Mobile devices are eating away at desktop PCs in some ways and adding to desktop PCs in other ways, depending on the activity and on how easy an industry has made it for a consumer to interact on a mobile device, analysts at research firm eMarketer Inc. tell Internet Retailer regarding some compelling new data from the firm.
For example, the amount of web/app time per day the average mobile device user spends on that device has increased enormously over the last five years: 24 minutes in 2010, 48 minutes in 2011, 1 hour and 35 minutes in 2012, 2 hours and 19 minutes in 2013, and a whopping 2 hours and 51 minutes in 2014, eMarketer says. But the amount of web time spent on a desktop/laptop PC has only dropped 10 minutes in the past five years, from 2 hours and 22 minutes in 2010 to 2 hours and 12 minutes in 2014, eMarketer finds.
When compared with PC web time, much mobile web/app time is incremental, though mobile has replaced the PC in certain areas, such as social networking, says Monica Peart, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer.
“When considering a good share of PC time is for utility purposes, such as work-related activities and activities that lend themselves better to larger screens, it should not be too surprising that PC time has not eroded more,” Peart says. “However, while PC Internet and mobile Internet time do differ to some degree and while there are still activities that lend themselves better to one group than the other, mobile services are increasingly becoming quite easy to use through mobile apps and are replacing some instances of what was traditionally PC time. This is the case with personal banking, for example.”
Online shopping is an example of an activity that is increasingly becoming more mobile. The majority of time spent with online retail now occurs on a mobile device, according the the latest data from web and mobile measurement firm comScore. 75% of online shoppers use mobile devices in some capacity when shopping, eMarketer says. And the trajectory of mobile retail sales is fairly clear: Mobile sales accounted for 11% of U.S. web sales in 2012 and will account for 23% of U.S. web sales this year, according to the 2015 Internet Retailer Mobile 500.
One area where mobile is definitely hurting PC is digital ad spending, which shows the increasing influence of mobile devices. New data from eMarketer says digital ad spending on PCs was $32.44 billion in 2013 but will drop to $24.18 in 2018. Why? Digital ad spending on mobile was $10.67 billion in 2013 and will explode to $58.78 in 2018, eMarketer says.
Desktop is losing sales to mobile, but mobile also will gain quite a bit of new advertising, says Martin Utreras, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer.
“Mobile has gained dollars from traditional media, it has opened the doors to local advertising, and is becoming central to e-commerce,” Utreras says. “A big driver of ad dollars on mobile is media consumption. Consumers of all ages are increasingly accessing more media through tablets and smartphones: music, video, newspapers, magazines, games, etc. The other driver is targeting and location. Companies like Facebook, Google and others are becoming increasingly sophisticated in tracking consumers through the purchase funnel in a multiscreen world. And at the same time they are focusing on improving ROI and automating their selling platforms. The local nature of mobile has also opened the doors to small businesses that traditionally did not have a way to advertise and get their message to very specific local audiences.”
Follow Bill Siwicki, editor of the 2015 Internet Retailer Mobile 500 and managing editor, mobile commerce, at Internet Retailer, at @IRmcommerce.