Smartphone penetration reaches 66 percent in 2018
In 2018, 66 percent of people in 52 key markets will own a smartphone, up from 63 percent in 2017 and 58 percent in 2016, according to the Zenith Mobile Advertising Forecasts 2017, released Monday.
The rapid global expansion of smartphone ownership, which has transformed the way advertisers communicate with consumers, is slowing as penetration in the most developed markets reaches 80 to 90 percent. The number of smartphone owners will increase by 7 percent year-on-year in 2018, compared to 10 percent growth in 2017, 14 percent in 2016 and 21 percent in 2015.
The proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices is increasing the number of contacts between brands and consumers by offering consumers new ways to access media content anytime, anywhere in the world. Some of this contact comes in the form of paid advertising, but mobile technologies also enable enhanced brand experiences through branded content and social media engagement.
Western Europe and Asia-Pacific continue to lead the world in terms of smartphone ownership. We anticipate that there will be five markets with smartphone penetration of over 90% in 2018: Netherlands (94 percent), Taiwan (93 percent), Hong Kong (92 percent), Norway and Ireland (91 percent each). 11 markets will have a market penetration of between 80% and 90%, all in Western Europe and Asia-Pacific. The only exception is Israel with a market penetration of 86%.
The country with the highest number of smartphone users will be China with 1.3 billion users, followed by India with 530 million users. The USA will be in third place with 229 million users.
Tablet penetration stabilizes at around 20 percent.
Tablet PC ownership is far less widespread than smartphone ownership, partly because households are more likely to share them and partly because consumers in some markets prefer to use larger smartphones. Tablets have not caught on at all in China, where we estimate market penetration at just 4.8% this year, compared to 85.4% for smartphones. In Thailand, tablet penetration is even decreasing.
The prevalence of tablets varies greatly in the 52 countries surveyed; it is over 50% in 12 markets and under 10% in seven countries. Tablets are most widespread in the Netherlands (74%), Australia (66%) and Ireland (65%).
We estimate global tablet penetration at 18.7% this year, compared to 17.8% in 2016, and it appears to be stabilizing at around 20%: We forecast market penetration of 19.5% in 2018 and 20.1% in 2019.
Mobile devices account for 73 percent of internet usage in 2018
Mobile devices (including smartphones and tablets) are now the primary means of internet access for most users and will account for 73% of internet usage in 2018, up from 70% in 2017 and 65% in 2016. Mobile internet usage has doubled since 2011, when it accounted for 36% of total online usage. A share of 76% is expected by 2019.
The markets with the highest shares of internet usage via mobile devices are geographically diverse. Spain is in the lead, with an estimated 81% share of internet usage via mobile devices this year, followed by Italy (78%), China and the USA (77% each) and India (73%).
59 percent of internet advertising spend will be mobile in 2018
As Zenith has documented in its quarterly ad spend forecasts, spending on internet ads served on mobile ads has overtaken spending on desktop ads for the first time this year. It is estimated that 53 percent of all online ads will be seen on mobile devices in 2017 and predicts this proportion will rise to 59 percent in 2018 and 62 percent in 2019.
In 2019, mobile ad spend will total 156 billion US dollars and account for 26% of total advertising expenditure.
"For most consumers and advertisers, mobile internet is now the normal internet," explains Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting and Director of Global Intelligence at Zenith. "Mobile device ownership is starting to saturate in some markets, but there is still plenty of room for further growth in the rest of the world."
Vittorio Bonori, Zenith's Global Brand President, said: "Now that the internet is mobile, brands have the opportunity to use it to communicate with consumers on even more occasions - while shopping, socializing, traveling and at work. By reaching consumers at the right moments with tailored messages, brands can more effectively guide them through the consumer journey."
*The 52 countries included in this report are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia.
