WHERE are CONSUMERS SPENDING THEIR TIME ON mobile?

Published: Summer 2017

It’s no secret: the mobile phone is the screen to be seen. Marketers no longer question if they should advertise on mobile, but how to do so successfully. In a recent industry report, eMarketer acknowledged a flaw in traffic measurement when comparing mobile app usage to mobile web. The report suggested that mobile web is “likely getting short shrift… because a portion of ‘mobile app’ time is spent viewing mobile web pages that are rendered via in-app browser.” How can marketers distinguish these differences in usage and best utilize those insights into their mobile marketing strategies?

Background

Mobile web reaches a much wider and faster-growing audience, drawing significantly more unique visitors than apps. Despite the advantage and reach of mobile web, however, many estimates suggest that the increase in time spent correlates to an increase in app usage. In a recent report by eMarketer, the company acknowledges the flaw in their forecasting model (among others) and suggests that mobile web is “likely getting short shrift… because a portion of ‘mobile app’ time is spent viewing mobile web pages that are rendered via in-app browser”. So, where are consumers spending their time on mobile?

The Goal & methodology

Kargo partnered with Verto Analytics to measure consumer mobile traffic and browsing behaviors. In addition, the study explored the amount of time consumers are spending in the Facebook mobile app and the portion of that time they spend on mobile web content rendered within (“WebKit”). The Facebook app was selected for analysis as it is the most commonly used app.

The study consisted of two types of data collection: (a) Verto Analytics’ proprietary opt-in panel, which includes software that users install on their device to measure device usage and (b) an attitudinal survey about mobile web and in-app web usage among the same population. Mobile web usage was measured by recording the traffic calls through a VPN (Virtual Private Network) via the Verto Analytics software. For the purposes of this research and due to tracking capabilities, only iOS was measured.

Behavioral data was tracked over a three-month period from December 2016 through February 2017.  Survey data was collected in June 2017.

Key Learnings

• How do mobile web and mobile app usage compare? 

• How frequently do consumers experience mobile web content through apps? 

• How much time are consumers spending reading and consuming mobile web content inside of apps? 

• What content are users consuming in apps?