Marketing Strategy Blog

Mega Internet Trends of 2015

Get ready to see what’s over the horizon. Each year, Mary Meeker at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB) synthesizes a mountain of data to give clarity to the major changes, forces and trends shaping the Internet. In her latest report, “Internet Trends 2015,” Meeker shares her latest insights on the evolution of the Internet and its impact on our lives.

Saving you from having to flip through the entire 196-page report, I’m highlighting some of the most critical trends for you below:

The Internet Population

According to the report, 2.8 billion people used the Internet last year, or 39% of the world’s population. This compares with merely 0.06% twenty years ago. This is great progress, but we still have a ways to go before everyone on the planet has access…

Internet User Growth

Mobile Explosion

The mobile population has simply exploded. Not surprisingly, compared to 1995, when only 1% of the world’s population had a mobile phone, today 73%, or 5.2 billion people around the world, use mobile phones. Expect this trend to only intensify. A full 87% of millennials in the U.S. say that their smartphone never leaves their side, night or day.

Mobile Phone Users

User Control of Content is Up Significantly

This ain’t your grandma’s media landscape. We’ve gone from the limited world of VCRs to endless content discovery options, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Instagram, satellite radio, streaming radio, etc.

User Control of Content Is Up Significantly

Similarly, users are creating their own content, giving consumers endless choices.

Internet Growth in China & India

Media Usage Is Eating Our Days

We each now spend 5.6 hours per day with digital media, with more of our time on mobile (51%) than on laptops and desktops.

Internet Usage Growth Solid

Internet Advertising Is Still Growing

Although Internet advertising is still growing, mobile is where you can find the fastest growth (34%). With that said, as a percentage of the overall online ad market, mobile is still small (14%). Although the desktop dominates, growth is now slowing down.

Internet Advertising Growth

Video Is Going Vertical

It used to be that video was made for larger screens. However, with ubiquitous broadband access video is going small screen in a big way. In fact, almost one-third of our video viewing is now on a small screen. And expect more vertical small screen video moving forward. Vertical video ads on Snapchat have a 9X higher completion rate than horizontal mobile video ads.

Video - Small Screen Vertical Viewing

Vertical Viewing

The Internet Is Transforming Everything About Everything

Every aspect of business is being transformed by the Internet. Whether messaging or offline payments, whether document signing or customer service, whether enterprise planning or background checks, new user-friendly solutions are taking over and pushing outdated, cumbersome processes out the door.

Transforming Business Communications

Transforming Offline Payments

Transforming Human Resources

From Clicking to Sensing

Our world is moving from one of “clicking” to one of “sensing”…

Just In Time Products & Services

Expect Rapid Growth in China & India Next

Most people in the US are of course already using the Internet. China is on its way, but it’s really India that will see the penetration curve swing radically upward now.

china-india-internet-growth

The Full Report

See the slides below for the entire Internet Trends 2015 report!

Photo Credit: Peter