A new study has revealed that traffic from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets has surpassed that of desktop devices for the first time.
In South Africa, we’re usually quite familiar with watching an international tech trend and watching our nation head the other way. Today we found ourselves in (ironically) the converse position, as a new study has reported that web traffic from mobile devices has officially exceeded that of desktop computers for the first time.
StatCounter reports that the combined traffic of mobile and tablet devices exceeded that of desktop computers; mobile accommodated for 51.2% of web traffic in October, while desktop computers accounted for 48.7%.
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In emerging markets such as South Africa and India, mobile traffic has significantly outweighed that which has arrived from desktop devices; the relative immaturity of both markets caters for what is known as the digital divide; wherein the cost of establishing and offering broadband access significantly shapes how citizens access the internet.
Hence, emerging markets are often termed as mobile-first economies, wherein citizens traditionally access the internet through a smartphone or feature phone and rely on cellular connectivity.
The news that mobile traffic has officially exceeded that of desktop computers means that a majority of companies will now – if they haven’t before – have to focus on a mobile-first approach to internet services and web properties.
While mature markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States still rely on desktop traffic, that’s a gap which is rapidly closing.
The shift will likely see many international web companies shift to cater for mobile devices first; a powerful promise for countries like South Africa where the prevalence of mobile devices and cellular connectivity – despite their cost – remains high.
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Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
Source: TechCrunch
