Marketers are starting to realize that the mobile upswing isn't just a fad. Thing is, if you haven't already made an investment in mobile marketing, starting now could seem a little daunting. I mean, it's just one more thing to add to your ever-lengthening to-do list, right?
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it, even if it just means you start mobile-optimizing your emails. Or maybe you invest in optimizing your site for mobile visitors. Or even do a little mobile SEO. Wherever mobile marketing stands on your list of priorities, there's no doubt it's here to stay -- and these stats should help you understand just how important it is, and perhaps help you prioritize your efforts.
23 Mobile Marketing Statistics You Should Know
The State of the Mobile Union
1) 1.08 of the world's 4 billion mobile phones are smartphones. 3.05 billion are SMS enabled. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!
2) Mobile internet usage is projected to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!
3) Apple and Android represent more than 75% of the smartphone market. (Source: comScore) Tweet This Stat!
Mobile Optimization
4) 74% of consumers will wait 5 seconds for a web page to load on their mobile device before abandoning the site. (Source: Gomez) Tweet This Stat!
5) 46% of consumers are unlikely to return to a mobile site if it didn't work properly during their last visit. (Source: Gomez) Tweet This Stat!
6) 71% of mobile browsers expect web pages to load almost as quickly or faster as web pages on their desktop computers. (Source: Gomez) Tweet This Stat!
Mobile Search
7) 7.96% of all web traffic in the U.S. is mobile traffic. That number skyrockets to 14.85% in Africa, and 17.84% in Asia -- up 192.5% since 2010. (Source: Pingdom) Tweet This Stat!
8) One half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!
9) Mentioning a location in mobile ads and search results can increase click-through rates up to 200%. (Source: ThinkNear) Tweet This Stat!
Mobile Commerce
10) Only 19% of US retailers have an M-Commerce app. (Source: eMarketer) Tweet This Stat!
11) That might be okay, since only 4% of consumers prefer to shop via an app. (Source: eMarketer) Tweet This Stat!
12) 24% of US tablet owners use their tablets to shop 2-3 times per month; 20% use them to shop more than once per week; and 12% use them to shop every day! (Source: eMarketer) Tweet This Stat!
13) 29% of mobile users are open to scanning a mobile tag to get coupons. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!
14) 1 in 5 smartphone users scan product barcodes, and nearly 1 in 8 compare prices on their phone while in a store. (Source: comScore) Tweet This Stat!
15) 39% of instances where a consumer walks out of a store without buying were influenced by smartphones. (Source: Motorola Solutions) Tweet This Stat!
Mobile Social Media
16) 91% of mobile internet access is for social activities, versus just 79% on desktops. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!
17) Over 1/3 of Facebook's users access Facebook Mobile; 50% of Twitter's users use Twitter Mobile. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!
18) QR code scans increased 300% in 2011 compared to 2010. (Source: ScanLife) Tweet This Stat!
Mobile Email Marketing
19) If all US mobile internet time was condensed into an hour, 25 minutes of it would be spent on email. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!
20) The entertainment, finance, publishing, and social networking industries see above average mobile email views compared to other industries. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!
21) From April to September in 2011, mobile email opens increased 34%, while webmail and PC opens decreased by 11% and 9.5%, respectively. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!
22) iPad users are loving it for email -- there's been a 73% increase in opens on those skinny little things. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!
23) Mobile email readership is at its peak on Saturday, and at its lowest on Monday. (Source: Marketing Technology Blog) Tweet This Stat!
Has the growth of mobile caused you to invest more in your mobile marketing strategy yet?
Image credit: Rhys Asplundh
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Russ Schon 5:41 PM on June 21, 2012
Thanks Corey,
I tweeted several of the stats and am going to use the article as part of the foundation for my mobile website marketing tools.
carolyn 6:20 PM on June 21, 2012
Great article but HATE the 'Tweet This Stat!' links.
People browse articles online and i personally find this really off-putting and makes the article really hard to read.
Sorry guys!
Carloyn
Karrie 7:09 PM on June 21, 2012
Really great article; just learnt a few new ideas that I will be utilizing real soon. Thanks.
Ben Troy 10:33 PM on June 21, 2012
By 2014 the mobile internet will over take desktop internet users
One half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices
Severin 4:59 AM on June 22, 2012
Thanks! A comparism in the spreading of mobile phones and tv's within the population would be great. In Germany > 95% of the population has smartphones and only 95% of the households (not individuals) have a tv. I think this greatly shows how important mobile marketing is.
grand rapids web marketing 5:27 AM on June 22, 2012
Grand Rapids web marketing has various methods to of increasing the website rank in the search engine. i have also worked in these methods.
Cory Gaddis 9:46 AM on June 22, 2012
Great article Corey! I found the email marketing stats especially eye-opening - this is an area where there is so much room for improvement in the industry.
There is an excellent book on mobile marketing called "Go Mobile," co-authored by Jeanne Hopkins of HubSpot and Jamie Turner of 60 Second Marketer. I would encourage anyone interested in the space to check it out!
Corey Eridon 9:47 AM on June 22, 2012
@Cory, I've worked with both Jeanne and Jamie, and I second your recommendation for their book. Thanks for chiming in with that recommendation!
Blue Whale Apps 3:06 PM on June 22, 2012
Great article! And I was surprised by a few stats. Thanks for sharing :)
Zahurul Islam Rocky 4:37 PM on June 24, 2012
Thanks for your all information.
It's a great article.
I am really benefited your information.
Jules Thomas 3:58 AM on June 25, 2012
A really useful and informative article, just goes to show how forgiving people are... 46% will return if they think your page didn't load properly... I expect that number will decrease once the technology has been around for longer, consumers become a whole lot less forgiving in time.
Thanks
Jules
Handset Detection 9:02 AM on June 26, 2012
Thanks for this and for introducing us to the Gomez report. Their stats, like "46% of consumers are unlikely to return to a mobile site if it didn't work properly during their last visit" are wonderful for our marketing here at Handset Detection where we help companies detect which handsets are accessing their pages. This will appear on our "Things You May Have Missed in Mobile" blog post this week!