Mobile Web has now overtaken PC in 40 nations, including India, Nigeria and Bangladesh

In 40 countries Webpage views from a mobile phone now outnumber those from a PC, according to StatCounter (August 2014). That’s just browsing with mobile phones; if you consider tablet computers to be mobile, then that number increases to 48 countries. Of the 40, three countries stand out particularly being members of the 100 million (mobile subscriber) club: India (797.1 million mobile subscribers), Nigeria (130.6 million) and Bangladesh (116.9 million). And we’re not talking mobile Web being a bit bigger than PC Web – in India, Nigeria and Bangladesh mobile phones now account for around 70 percent of Webpage views.

If mobile Web continues to grow at the present phenomenal growth rate, up 67 percent in a year, we should expect to welcome plenty more countries to Mobile Web Majority, as mobiThinking now calls them, over the next year or so. The stats suggest that future additions may include Indonesia and Pakistan, also members of the 100 Million Club.

Worldwide desktop access still accounts for 64.6 percent of Webpage views, but the mobile phone’s share has grown massively from 17.1 percent in 2013 to 28.5 percent in 2014 (that’s 67 percent growth). Points to note: a) as shown in the following graph, it is mobile phones, rather than tablets that are responsible for reducing the PCs dominance. This is because the number of people with tablet computers in most countries is still quite small; b) this is just mobile browser access, native/download apps don’t have anything to do with this; c) this is Webpage views, rather than visits. Thus, if PC users visit more pages per visit than mobile users, which is probable, then the proportion of mobile visitors to Websites will be higher than the number of pages visited.

The message is stark: companies in all countries need a mobile-phone friendly Website (not just those in countries where mobile has already overtaken PC Web) and, if they want to sell anything, an m-commerce site.

“Websites should be preparing for a mobile-first world if they have not done so already. There are huge challenges and opportunities for businesses to adapt to this trend.” Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter.

Source:  http://mobithinking.com/