What Percentage of Internet Traffic Is Mobile?
DataProt is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission. This, however, does not influence the evaluations in our reviews. Learn More.
You’re probably reading this now on your phone or desktop. It’s not hard to guess since the latest report on internet traffic says 58.33% of internet usage comes from mobile phones.
Until a “more convenient” technology than cellular phones emerges, mobile phones, for now, are unofficially a human’s third hand. The intimate proximity people have with their mobile devices comes with many marketing possibilities.
If you want confirmation to invest marketing-wise in the mobile phone platform, this article covers the latest and most relevant mobile and internet traffic stats.
Editor’s Choice
- 50.55% of internet traffic comes from mobile phones, siphoning most desktop-based web traffic.
- Desktops’ customer conversion rate is higher than mobile devices at 3.82% and 1.32%, respectively.
- Mobile devices have 83% ad viewability, higher than desktops’ 53% ad viewability rate.
- Mobile phone internet traffic share dropped at least 9% starting February 2023.
- Mobiles have the quickest bounce rate at 49%, followed by desktops at 45%, and the slowest – tablets at 42%.
Eye-Opening Mobile Internet Traffic Statistics of 2023
The percentage of mobile internet traffic has gone through the roof in the past ten years. The highest global traffic gained from mobile devices was during the third quarter of 2022, at 59.54%.
2017 cemented the superiority of the “internet surfing on phones” trend at 52.99% web traffic. Since 2019, internet traffic from mobiles has not left the 50% mark.
Below are some of the most eye-opening stats about mobile web traffic, comparison stats between different device types, usage by region, mobile activities, and more.
Mobile Vs. Desktop Internet Usage Statistics
Although most of the web traffic comes from mobile devices, there are areas in which desktops and laptops dominate the traffic.
The statistics below describe how mobile vs. desktop is concerning internet usage and its various facets.
1. Taking 58.33% of the world’s internet traffic, mobile phones overtake desktops’ traffic share.
(Oberlo and Statista)
In 2013, desktops enjoyed most of the traffic share at 82.98%. However, in 2017, mobile internet traffic exceeded desktops’, obtaining 50.7% of the global internet traffic; desktop web traffic trailed a few points away at 49.3%.
People use mobile phones to browse websites and mobile apps. Developers need to create mobile-friendly websites to increase accessibility and convenience. Elements such as big, clickable buttons, clear texts, and a seamless transactional page help increase mobile internet use.
2. Desktops have a conversion rate of 3.82%, higher than mobile devices.
(Web FX)
Phones are often used to access the internet than desktops, but the latter is still superior in customer conversion rate. Mobile devices only have a 1.32% conversion rate. This is unsurprising since 58% of global online visits in 2021 are done via smartphones.
Looking at these stats, you can infer that most users like browsing on their phones as mobile and desktop site user interface varies, which affects consumer use. Regardless, both platforms need product page optimization emphasizing smoothening transactional pages on the desktop format.
3. Ad viewership from mobile users is 83%, while desktop users’ ad viewership is only 53%.
(Research.com)
The high ad viewership among mobile users is due to the lack of effective ad blockers for mobile internet use. Marketers and online businesses should target mobile internet users when promoting ad viewership.
However, ad companies should also find ways to target desktop consumers through high-traffic websites and ad services that can bypass ad blockers.
Internet Traffic by Device Type
Computers and mobile phones aren’t the only pair vying for the most internet traffic. Other hybrid devices like tablets contribute to the traffic too.
This section gives essential insights into how mobile devices, computers, and tablets behave in the global internet movement. It also shows what device internet-active countries prefer when accessing the web.
4. Internet traffic share of mobile devices dropped 9% of internet traffic share from February 2023.
(StatCounter)
As mobile’s share of internet traffic experiences a steady decline, desktops are slowly gaining internet traction. Meanwhile, tablets remain below the 3% mark.
One reason internet traffic from mobile devices isn’t as strong as before is due to the popularity of mobile applications. The introduction of the 5G technology led to better internet connection speed, making it more convenient for users to access apps fast without needing to go through a website.
| Device | Percentages of Devices People Use to Access the Internet from Feb – May 2023 | |||
| February | March | April | May | |
| Mobile phone (any) | 59.36% | 57.18% | 53.61% | 50.71% |
| Laptop or desktop (any) | 38.6% | 40.8% | 44.4% | 47.41% |
| Tablet | 2.04% | 2.02% | 1.99% | 1.88% |
5. PCs, laptops, and tablets account for half of the people’s time spent on the internet in 18 out of 46 countries.
(Datareportal)
Different regions have unique device preferences for internet access, but computers and laptops still dominate most online traffic in countries like the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Meanwhile, countries in Asia like Indonesia, Thailand, India, and China prefer using their mobile phones for 60% of their internet connection time. Here’s a breakdown of the internet traffic share from the 46 countries with the most internet activity.
| Country | Mobile Internet Traffic | Computer Internet Traffic |
| Indonesia | 63.4% | 36.6% |
| Thailand | 62.8% | 37.2% |
| India | 61.4% | 38.6% |
| China | 60.3% | 39.7% |
| Turkey | 59.9% | 40.1% |
| Philippines | 59.7% | 40.3% |
| Romania | 58.6% | 41.4% |
| Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E | 57.5% | 42.5% |
| Brazil | 57.3% | 42.7% |
| Egypt | 56.4% | 43.6% |
| Mexico | 55.9% | 44.1% |
| Taiwan | 55.5% | 44.5% |
| Chile and Vietnam | 55.4% | 44.6% |
| Malaysia | 55.1% | 44.9% |
| Argentina | 54.5% | 45.5% |
| South Africa | 54.8% | 45.2% |
| Colombia | 53.6% | 46.4% |
| Ireland | 52.1% | 47.9% |
| Hongkong and Australia | 51% | 49% |
| Netherlands | 50.8% | 49.2% |
| Japan | 50.7% | 49.3% |
| Israel | 50.5% | 49.5% |
| New Zealand | 50.3% | 49.7% |
| Spain | 50.1% | 49.9% |
| Sweden | 50% | 50% |
| Italy and the U.K, and the U.S | 49.6% | 50.4% |
| Norway | 49.1% | 50.9% |
| Poland | 49% | 51% |
| Greece | 48.9% | 51.1% |
| Singapore and Portugal | 48.4% | 51.6% |
| South Korea | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Germany | 47.8% | 52.2% |
| Austria | 47.5% | 52.5% |
| France | 47.2% | 52.8% |
| Canada | 46.6% | 53.4% |
| Czechia | 46.4% | 53.6% |
| Russia | 46.1% | 53.9% |
| Switzerland and Denmark | 45% | 55% |
| Belgium | 42.5% | 57.5% |
6. Tablets have the lowest bounce rate at 42%, followed by desktops at 45% and mobile at 49%.
(Contentsquare)
Across all industries, tablets have the lowest bounce rate, while mobile phones have the fastest. Although the gap in bounce rate of both devices is only 7%, there is a reason why people tend to linger more on tablets. Tablets have the best of both worlds – they have the portability of smartphones and the large screen size of computers.
Take a look at the bounce rate share per device for each industry:
| Industry | Desktop | Mobile | Tablet |
| Apparel | 40% | 45% | 39% |
| Automotive | 41% | 48% | 42% |
| B2B | 75% | 77% | 83% |
| Beauty | 45% | 49% | 45% |
| Consumer Electronics | 43% | 46% | 38% |
| Energy | 29% | 48% | 43% |
| Financial Services | 43% | 51% | 45% |
| Grocery | 36% | 43% | 34% |
| Luxury | 44% | 47% | 42% |
| Travel | 42% | 43% | 41% |
| Telco | 51% | 59% | 51% |
Conclusion
Computers were considered the staple machine to access the internet at one point. Now, humans found newer ways of casual browsing in pocket-sized technology, like smartphones and tablets.
The data above proves that mobile usage completely overtakes traditional computer browsing and internet traffic for the past decade.
It’s also important to note that desktops shouldn’t be quickly dismissed, at least not yet. They remain the undisputed tool for the workforce and most on-page online transactions. The tablet industry also seems to have recently increased its share of global traffic usage, but not enough to overtake mobile devices.
