Mobile to represent 75% of internet traffic next year

According to a new forecast from Zenith, next year, three-quarters of global internet traffic will come from mobile devices. While we were all likely aware of the internet increasingly becoming mobile-first, 75% is a huge proportion when you consider the number of desktops and laptops still out there.

As Zenith notes, internet access from mobile devices skyrocketed in recent years, with smartphones and tablets representing just 40% of global web access in 2012. This year that number has risen to 68% and Zenith predicts it will rise to 79% globally by 2018.

In Spain, the country with the highest mobile internet usage rates, that number is already around 85%. As far as smartphone penetration goes, Zenith claims Ireland has the highest percentage of smartphone users, with a massive 92% of the Irish reported to own a smartphone. Singapore comes next with 91%.

Zenith forecasts that, concomitant to the rise in internet use from mobile devices, there will be a plenitude of new mobile advertising to go with it. So much so that 60% of global advertising revenue in 2018 is predicted to be mobile-driven.

The company predicts that mobile-first advertising will be worth $134 billion worldwide in 2018. For reference, that figure is greater than the estimated global advertising budgets for newspapers, magazines, cinema and outdoor advertising combined.

What percentage of the time do you think you access the internet from a mobile device? How do you deal with mobile ads?