Curious to learn more about mobile marketing statistics? We’ve compiled a list of 2023’s most interesting stats and figures on this ever-evolving industry.
Intense research and widespread aggregation led us to 42 mobile marketing statistics. These help explain the state of this niche marketing industry, why it’s growing so rapidly, and why brands worldwide are turning to mobile marketing to connect with consumers.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Top Mobile Marketing Statistics in 2023
- Mobile advertising spending will surpass $413 billion by 2024
- 51% of ad spending will be on mobile and 49% on desktop in 2023
- 66.6 percent of the global population use a mobile device
- 280 million Americans (84.2%) use their phones to access the internet
- On average, people spend around five hours a day on their smartphones
- People in the US spend 49% of their phone time on social media apps
- More than 80% of internet users use smartphones
- 89% of phone time is devoted to using an app
- Roughly 51% of all web traffic is mobile
- 61% of website visitors won’t return to a website that isn’t mobile friendly
How big is the mobile marketing industry?
1. Mobile advertising spending will reach nearly $413 billion by 2024
(Statista)
Let’s kick it off with the growth of mobile marketing. In 2021, the global spending on mobile advertising reached an all-time high of $288B U.S. dollars. But, that record is soon to be broken. That figure was the result of a 26.6% increase from 2020 and experts only expect the growth of mobile marketing to continue. In 2023, the worldwide industry is projected to reach $339B and nearly $413B by 2024.
2. The U.S. is expected is spend over $240B on mobile advertising
(Semrush)
Resources predicted that at the end of 2022, the United States’ mobile marketing spend would surpass $240B. That’s significantly higher than the $189B spent in 2019. Growth is expected to slow slightly this year (by 10.4%), but either way, it’s steadily increasing stateside.
3. The United States is the world’s leader in mobile advertising spending
(Semrush)
The U.S. spends more on mobile advertising than anyone else. The second-largest mobile advertising market in 2020 was China, worth $72.2B. More notable mobile marketing markets include Thailand with an annual growth of 46% and India at 42%.
4. 31% of retail spending was made on mobile devices in the U.S.
(Semrush)
In 2020, it was reported that eCommerce spending inside the United States soared to $47.8B. Over 30% of this retail spending was made directly from mobile devices, proving that people don’t need a desktop (or tablet) to shop.
5. Of the total digital advertising spend worldwide, 60% is on mobile
(Statista)
Statista reported that in 2022, the mobile advertising expenditure worldwide reached over $288B. An overwhelming 60% of that enormous spend came from mobile digital ad spending.
6. 66.6% of the global population uses a mobile device
(Data Reportal)
Today, over 5.22B people have a mobile phone. That’s 66.6% of the world’s population. As a result, this population of mobile phone users increased by 93M (1.8% of the global population) over 2021.
7. Smartphones make up 77.5% of the mobile device market
(Semrush)
Tablets and other on-the-go devices are not nearly as common as smartphones. Android remains the most popular mobile operating system globally, maintaining a 72% market share as of 2021.
What percentage of website traffic is mobile?
8. Over 84% of Americans access the internet via their phones
(Semrush)
According to reports in 2021, over 280 million Americans claimed to access the internet on their phones. That’s 84.2% of the population. By 2025, this number is projected to increase by nearly 10 million people, meaning almost 87% of Americans will surf the web on their smartphones.
9. More than half (51%) of global web traffic is done on mobile devices
(Statista)
Mobile devices (excluding tablets) are responsible for over half (54.4%) of global website traffic. This figure has remained above 50% since the beginning of 2017 and doesn’t show signs of stopping. Many emerging markets skipped over the desktop internet phase due to low infrastructure and lower financial possibilities. Therefore, much of the world went straight to mobile internet.
10. Mobile traffic is predicted to increase by 25% by 2025
(Smart Insights)
According to consistent trends and smartphone analytics, mobile traffic is predicted to increase by 25% by 2025. This large increase in traffic over the next few years will come from increased video views and expanded streaming possibilities on mobile devices.
11. 92% of the world’s internet users use a mobile phone at least some of the time
(Data Portal)
Mobile phones are responsible for more than half of the world’s time online and over half of all website traffic overall. These high numbers are possible because the vast majority of all internet users report using their phones at least some of the time.
12. 60% of all Google searches are performed on mobile devices
(Digital Examiner)
People are running searches on their mobile phones now more than ever. This 60% search volume is nearly double that from five years ago. When considering mobile searches overall, people use Google as their mobile browser 96% of the time.
13. Four-fifths of time spent online is on mobile devices in the UK
(Ofcom UK)
People living in the United Kingdom are using smartphones to go online, a lot. Over four-fifths of all the time spent online is on mobile devices. At the same time, those using computers or laptops to go on the internet are declining year over year, from 12% in 2017 to just 4% in 2019.
14. 93% use the internet on smartphones to discover local businesses
(Digital Examiner)
If people are going online so frequently on their phones, what are they looking for? Turns out, 93% of people are using mobile internet to find local businesses. The most common search categories are restaurants and searches for types of food or specific atmospheres.
What percentage of advertising does mobile account for?
15. Mobile advertising makes up over 50% of ad spending
(Digital Examiner)
mobile advertising accounted for over half of all ad spending in 2022 and overtook desktop advertising and web-based outlets. This shift may even continue to increase as mobile devices continue to be the convenient and overwhelming method of communication and content consumption.
16. 51% of ad spending will be on mobile and 49% on desktops by 2023
(Statista)
From 2018 to 2023, ad spending is slowly shifting more in favor of mobile. Thanks to the further widespread coverage of advanced 5G, mobile ad spending and advertising is predicted to continue to pull away from desktop over the next decade and onward.
17. 94% of Facebook’s advertising revenues were made via mobile
(Statista)
According to a report from the third quarter of 2019, an overwhelming majority of Facebook’s total advertising revenue was generated through mobile advertising. This mobile advertising equates to almost $16.3B in revenue quarterly. This 94% benchmark is up from 92% from the previous year.
Is mobile marketing successful?
18. 79% is the viewability rate of mobile video ads
(Statista)
Apparently investing in mobile video ads is trustworthy because people actually watch them. Nearly 80% of video ads that were displayed on a mobile device remained in view during the measured period. That’s impressive considering the average human attention span is less than 8 seconds.
19. 70% of mobile searches result in the user taking an online action
(Review 42)
When people use their phones to search for something, 70% of people take an action. That means mobile experiences and marketing is encouraging consumers to click, continue, read on and take other valuable actions online.
20. In the last 6 months, 79% of smartphone users purchased a product with their mobile device
(Digital Examiner)
Considering nearly 80% of people used their smartphone to purchase a product in the last 6 months, one can guess that mobile marketing is successful. These same buyers also say that they’re likely to repeat their mobile shopping behaviors.
21. 4 out of 5 customers shop from their smartphones
(Convince and Convert)
So many people are using their mobile devices to shop that big (and smart) retailers are using mobile marketing to their advantage. Some mobile marketing tactics include mobile store discounts and coupons, or incentives like a free drink or appetizer if one “checks in” on a social media platform.
22. 63% of retailers say social media is the best place to run ads
(Semrush)
Social media is a successful place to run mobile marketing ads according to 63% of retailers. According to those surveyed, ads on social media drove the most traffic to their online stores.
23. 57% of people look for an app to learn more about a product/service
(Semrush)
A study in 2019 proved that over half of the people using a smartphone browsed for a retail app. Why? They wanted to learn more about the product or service. Of those people, over half (51%) made a purchase from within the mobile retail app.
24. Mobile and desktop conversion rates are notably similar
(Smart Insights)
Over the past 4 years, the conversion of mobile shopping has increased exponentially. This is especially high in the United States. At the same time, global tablet conversion rates have grown higher than desktop conversion rates.
25. 69% of people would look for reviews on their phones first
(Smart Insights)
Almost 70% of smartphone users admit they look for reviews of a business on their phone first before wanting to speak to anyone. Following that mobile marketing statistic, 58% would look for comparable products online and 53% say they would look for deals or discounts.
26. After seeing a mobile ad, more than half of people take action on Google
(Tech Jury)
Data gathered from Google concluded that once people saw an ad on their mobile devices, more than half of them took one of three actions. They 1) performed a Google search and/or purchased the product in a store or 2) sent a text about it or 3) went directly to the website and bought the product.
Mobile marketing trends
27. Over 80% of internet users own a smartphone
(Smart Insights)
The fact that 8 in 10 internet users own a smartphone helps support the idea that people are using their phones for smart-capable experiences. The top categories that people are accessing via their smartphones include coupons/deals, dating apps, social media platforms, and weather reports.
28. Today, the vast majority of mobile devices have internet access
(Pew Research)
Having a cellular phone is common worldwide, but smartphones have quickly become the norm too. 77% of American adults own a smartphone. The countries with the highest percentage of smartphone users over non-smart mobile phones are South Korea (94%), Israel (83%), and Australia (82%).
29. People spend an average of 5 hours per day on their smartphones
(Review 42)
Smartphone users spend an average of 5 hours each day on their smartphones. These few hours make up 90% of daily media time, so it is no wonder that brands are spending billions on mobile marketing ads. In 2018, marketers spent over $138B on mobile-placed ads.
30. The number of emails opened via a phone has increased by 180%
(Review 42)
In the past three years, the number of emails being opened on a mobile device has nearly doubled. Reports indicate that an astounding 99% of people check their emails daily, while 35% of business professionals check their emails on their mobile phones.
31. In the U.S., 49% of mobile usage time is spent on social media
(Semrush)
People are spending more time on mobile apps each day. In 2022, users were spending an average of 227 per day on mobile apps. This figure is up from 2020 when users were spending an average of 215 minutes. People in the U.S. are spending almost half (49%) of their mobile usage time on social media platforms or chat apps.
32. 63% of mobile media time is spent streaming/watching videos
(Semrush)
Almost two-thirds of time spent on mobile phones is watching videos—and this figure is estimated to increase to 76% by 2025. This high percentage is due to the high retention rates and ample amounts of video content provided online. In 2020, Youtube’s mobile app was used by 72% of Americans.
33. 69% of people use the internet while they’re on the go
(Semrush)
Nearly 70% of people report surfing the web on the go, aka on mobile devices. In addition, 58% of Americans use a search engine on their phone at least once per month.
Mobile optimization statistics
34. Websites that are optimized for mobile attract 15% more unique clicks
(Digital Examiner)
Mobile-optimized websites increase engagement online by 15%. Websites that aren’t optimized suffer, not only from search engine rankings but also from consumer frustration. For each additional second of load time, website conversions decrease by over 4%.
35. 90% of consumers say that an excellent mobile experience is likely to convince them to repeat a purchase
(Digital Examiner)
If buyers have a great shopping experience on their mobile device, 9 in 10 of them admit they would be likely to make a repeat purchase from the same company. Ways that brands are improving mobile experiences are through better UI and UX, easier returns, faster shipping, and more mobile-friendly apps and websites.
36. 8 in 10 of the world’s top websites are mobile-friendly
(Digital Examiner)
80% of the world’s top-ranked websites are mobile-friendly. Meanwhile, 61% of visitors will never return to a website that’s not mobile-friendly.
In-app advertising statistics
37. 83% of consumers are willing to share their data for a more personalized experience
(Accenture)
According to one of the world’s leading consulting firms, 83% of people will happily provide their personal data for a more personalized ad experience. However, people don’t want brands to cross a line. For example, 40% of people think it’s “creepy” to get a mobile notification when they walk by a physical store.
38. Personalization works because 91% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that personalize offerings
(Accenture)
Brands are using mobile behaviors to improve their mobile ads and consumers are responding. Over 9 in 10 people would prefer that brands personalize their offerings and feel more encouraged to make a purchase because of it.
39. 89% of phone time is devoted to using an app specifically
(Marketing Dive)
According to a Nielsen study, a report showed that nearly 90% of the time spent using a smartphone was interacting with apps. Only 11% of phone time is spent using the mobile internet. It’s slightly less when considering tablets as 80% of the time is on apps and 19% is on the mobile web. Why? Tablets offer a larger screen that may be more convenient for users.
| Activity on smartphones | Time spent |
| Ads | 89% |
| Internet | 11% |
| Activity on tablet devices | Time spent |
| Apps | 80% |
| Internet | 19% |
40. Clickthrough rates are 34% better in-app than when placed natively
(Inmobi)
When looking at video advertising, video ads that are displayed in-app perform 34% better than native ads. In-app advertising videos even perform 56% better than traditional banner ads.
41. Consumers can recall a mobile in-app ad 47% of the time
(Inmobi)
Almost half of people remember the in-app ads they see on their mobile devices. According to a study, people remembered web ads 46% of the time and ads they saw on their computers just 36% of the time. Why? One reason could be that nearly half of respondents said that mobile ads were “appealing.”
42. 70% of advertisers with large ad budgets are increasing their in-app ad budgets this year
(Inmobi)
According to a 2017 Forrester study, 70% of advertisers and advertising agencies that are spending a minimum of $1M per month plan to increase their budgets specifically toward in-app ads. This proves more and more marketers are prioritizing mobile app and in-app advertising spending.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Why is mobile marketing so effective?
4 out of 5 customers shop on their mobile phones, making mobile marketing incredibly effective. There are plenty of reasons. First, more people use mobile with more than five billion people using mobile devices versus one billion people using desktops. Mobile also offers more touchpoints (SMS, voice, and so on) and advertisers have access to more data about mobile users than desktop users.
What percentage of ads are on mobile?
50% of ad spend is on mobile versus other types of devices. This number is steadily growing and in 2023, it’s expected to grow to 51%.
Over to you!
There it is! In just a few minutes, you learned 42 different top mobile marketing statistics.
Which statistic was the most surprising to you?
Tell us in the comments below!
Further reading:
Webinar Statistics: The Definitive List
Affiliate Marketing Statistics: The Definitive List
Sources:
Statista (1)
Statista (2)
Statista (3)
Statista (4)
Statista (5)
