More people are on mobile today, having 50.13% of market shares as of June 2020.
Desktop usage is close behind, though, at 47.06%. Meanwhile, tablets only account for 2.81%.
This tells us a lot, but it doesn’t tell us the whole picture. For instance, you might assume that website traffic will be coming from mobile most of the time. But would you know which device accounts for most of the time spent on websites?
The answer might surprise you. Take a look at the mobile vs desktop usage statistics below to see how user behavior changes between two devices.
1. Website Traffic
Mobile traffic has been seeing a steady increase from around 30% to 50%. Since then, it became stable at right over 50%, suggesting that it’s at its peak currently.
Still, that means it holds a firm gap over desktop traffic, which is now below 50%.
Will they stay this way? At the moment, there’s a strong possibility that web traffic will continue like this. It will come from both mobile and desktop at an almost equal pace.
However, more people are becoming mobile users. This tells us that mobile will continue to outpace PCs in the future.
2. Media Consumption
Users on mobile spend around 203 minutes per day consuming media. Desktop users only spend around 128 minutes per day.
Media consumption on desktops declined from 144 minutes per day, an 11% decrease from 2013. During that same time, mobile media consumption saw a sharp increase.
It’s important to note this data only pertains to time spent on social media, music, video streaming, and such. When it comes to time spent on websites, it’s a different matter.
3. Time Spent on Websites
If we’re talking about the time spent on websites, however, PCs comes first. In 2019, it accounted for 55.9% of the time users spent on websites, while mobile contributed only 40.1%.
This may seem contrasting to the information above. But, it only means that while mobile users spend more time online, they don’t spend a bulk of that time lingering on websites. Even if they contribute more traffic, they don’t stay for longer.
Websites still have higher engagement rates on desktops. Users are more likely to stay and browse for a while.
4. Bounce Rate
That explains the higher bounce rate on mobile vs desktop. Desktop users are more likely to linger on a website while mobile users are more likely to exit the page. It might have to do with the fact mobile users are always on the go and desktop users can simply open another tab.
The mobile bounce rate is improving, though. This can either mean the users are getting more comfortable with browsing websites or the mobile experience is improving. It could also mean both, thanks to mobile-optimized websites.
What is a responsive web design, you might wonder? Learn more about it here to understand what it means to have a better mobile experience.
5. Money Spent
What you should also know is that mobile users don’t spend as many dollars online as the time they spend. They account for only 16% of the total dollars spent on purchases, while desktop users account for 84%.
What we can conclude from this is that users are still more comfortable browsing and making transactions on desktop devices.
This will, of course, change as more e-commerce apps make their way to mobile devices.
6. Conversion Rates
Purchases aren’t the only type of conversion, though. It could also be filling out a form, contacting you, or subscribing to your newsletter. It’s when a visitor completes your desired goal.
That said, desktop still has higher conversion rates. This can be due to the complexity of the conversion process. The smaller screen is a big factor as it’s harder to navigate on it rather than on PC monitors.
Still, you shouldn’t ignore mobile users when creating a marketing strategy. The average mobile conversion rate is seeing a steady increase.
7. Search Queries
By 2019, mobile has surpassed desktop in terms of search queries.
Since then, mobile has become the top choice for more and more searchers. This is possibly due to the convenience and the combined effort of both Google and websites to provide a better mobile experience.
The number of smartphone owners is on an upward trend. As such, we’ll likely see the gap between mobile users and desktop users widen, as well.
8. Search Ad Clicks
Smartphones account for 55% of all Google search ad clicks, while only 37% come from desktops. The rest comes from tablet devices.
This tells us that smartphone users are much more likely to click on an ad than desktop users. Consider that when developing your PPC and advertising strategies.
9. Website Rankings
Did you know that a website has different rankings in the SERPs on mobile vs desktop? Take the time to study how you rank for the same keyword on different devices.
Around 62% of organic searches show different results on mobile and desktop. If you were in the top rankings on desktop, it might surprise you if you find your site on the second page on mobile. If you didn’t account for mobile users while optimizing your website and content, then it shouldn’t be surprising.
It makes sense—Google has billions of pieces of data they use to curate the top search results for the users.
The needs of mobile users are different than that of desktop users. Google adjusts search results accordingly.
Mobile vs Desktop: The Competition Continues
What we can take away from these is that the user experience is different on mobile vs desktop.
You must account for both when optimizing your website, especially when you’re targeting a specific group. Although mobile usage is going to be higher in the coming years, it’s still worth paying attention to desktop usage.
If you want to learn more marketing and technology tips, we invite you to keep reading our posts right here.
Photos courtesy of gettyimages.com
