The Rise of Mobile Web Browsing Dominance

Over the last decade overall but with huge strides in the last 5 years, the mobile app industry has continued to grow every year. Both Apple and Google have seen their digital marketplaces boom recently with a combined app download figure of over 115 billion in 2016. Projections show that this figure will increase even further by the end of 2017. More people are turning towards mobile apps as an alternative to desktop browsing thanks to the easy accessibility and effortless portability that comes with a mobile phone.

The app industry is growing faster than ever and more people are using apps than in any year previous. In fact, recent studies have shown that 90% of time spent on mobile phones is within apps. This illustrates a shift away from desktop browsing and a move towards apps that are specifically designed to fulfil a certain purpose.

Ever since 2009, mobile web browsing has been steadily rising and in October 2016 data showed that it overtook desktop browsing with a higher share of web traffic. By the end of 2016 mobile web browsing accounted for 51.3% of global internet traffic, while desktop use fell to 48.7%. This was the turning point at which the mobile web apps began to overtake desktop browsers as the primary platform for internet browsing.

As it stands, web browsing in the US and the UK is still done primarily on a desktop but projections show that it won’t be long before they too follow the global trend. By the end of 2016 mobile devices accounted for 44% of web browsing in Britain, with the US seeing a slightly lower figure of 42%. This is a significant increase from previous years which shows that a full blown mobile takeover isn’t far away.

Many of the biggest websites and online services in the world have seen their consumer base move away from desktop browsing in recent years and access their service through smartphone and their various connected apps. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, for example, are now accessed primarily through mobile apps. In 2013 an average of 33% of people accessed social media through a desktop browser. As of 2016, that figure has dropped to 21%, with 89% of people logging into their accounts regularly via their mobile device instead.

There are many other industries that have seen their consumers move towards mobile browsing which is why many companies and brands have begun developing their own mobile apps. With such a rapidly growing app market and an increasing consumer base, there is a lot of opportunity for new developments. For the modern-day consumer mobile apps represent a level of web convenience and a more personal experience than general web browsing is able to provide. App developers should continue to tap into these mentalities to produce winning app business ideas.