In a new study aimed at revealing mobile behavior, ZenithOptimedia and GlobalWebIndex (GWI) discover that by 2018, more time will be spent on the web via mobile than all other devices combined.

GWI’s panel of 200,000 Internet users were polled across the 34 of the globe’s largest advertising markets. KSA has already reached this tipping point. China and Japan, however, the second and third largest advertising markets will reach this by 2017 and the largest advertising market, the US, will reach this level by 2018.

Mobile first users are defined as those with 90 percent Internet access via mobile handsets, and ZenithOptimedia and GWI reveal that 41 percent of these users are between the ages of 16 and 24 years while 31 percent of those are aged between 25 and 34 years. The Middle East, unsurprisingly, has the highest penetration of mobile first users across all age groups with KSA reaching 11 percent and UAE at 8 percent.

About mobile first users:

  • They live in urban environments
  • They spend an average of 2.59 hours per day on the web via their mobiles
  • 23 per cent have made a purchase on a mobile in the past month
  • 44 per cent use a social networking service the most on mobile
  • 38 per cent check weather most
  • 22 per cent spend their time watching a mobile video

According to ZenithOptimedia and GWI, the rise of app usage is lowering the rates of mobile search usage because now, mobile behavior is mainly app-based.

In a press statement, Jason Mander, head of trends, GlobalWebIndex, says, “Today’s 16- to 24-year-olds are already online via mobile for more than three hours each day, showing just how much Smartphones have already changed the game. However, by 2018, our global forecasts shows that the time they devote to mobile will outpace all other devices combined – a significant tipping point which will herald the arrival of the truly mobile first consumer.”

Stefan Bardega, chief Digital officer, ZenithOptimedia, adds, “In just three years’ time, mobile will outstrip all other digital devices combined when it comes to young people’s share of Internet time. This has profound implications for marketers, many of which will need to accelerate their mobile programmes to keep pace with the rapid consumer adoption of mobile.”