Tablet Use Down, Report Says, Forcing Small Businesses to Adapt

Mobile devices have become an essential part of everyday life for most small business owners, with new mobile services and phone capabilities continuing to make doing business on the go easier. However, the latest mobile market trends indicate that while tablet usage is “strong,” it is nonetheless declining compared to smartphone usage. You should probably adjust accordingly.

2018 Mobile Device Trends You Should Know

According to a report (PDF) by DeviceAtlas, a provider of real-time device detection, intelligence and data capabilities, global tablet share of web traffic ranges from 2 percent to 16.9 percent, and is strongest in developed markets with the exception of Brazil. Tablets are most used in France (16.9 percent) and least used in India (2 percent). For the U.S., overall tablet web traffic reached 8.5 percent last year.

Meanwhile, there were 341.6 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2017 compared to 37.9 million tablets shipped during the same period, per IDC’s sales figures. Falling tablet sales figures may be attributed to market saturation and a longer lifespan for mobile devices, especially high-end models, DeviceAtlas says.

Apple Devices Take Greater Share of US Web Traffic

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is ahead of Samsung (KRX: 005930) in terms of U.S. share of web traffic for smartphone manufacturers. It is also ahead in Australia, Canada, Sweden and the U.K. During the last four quarters, Apple dropped some traffic in France (-11 percent), Canada (-4 percent), and UK (-4 percent), but DeviceAtlas says the Cupertino-based tech company gained in the U.S. (+5 percent) over the same period.

Samsung leads as the top phone maker worldwide with 23.3 percent market share followed by Apple (14.7 percent), and Huawei (10 percent). The most Samsung-dominated markets are Argentina, Egypt, Germany and Italy. Several predictions say Huawei (SHE: 002502) will soon overtake Apple as top phone maker, reports DeviceAtlas.

Devices from 2012 Get More Share than Those From 2017

Interestingly, devices released in 2012 get a lot more share than those released in 2017. Millions of users also don’t have a 4G network connection, per the report. Small businesses can use this data to organize their digital presence, target ads and improve web analytics.

DeviceAtlas says its data statistics are based on anonymous device traffic to tens of thousands of sites around the world. The devices use Afilias Technologies Ltd’s hosted website creation tech for which DeviceAtlas detects and adapts mobile web content.

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This article, "Tablet Use Down, Report Says, Forcing Small Businesses to Adapt" was first published on Small Business Trends