In January of 2014, smartphones and tablets were responsible for 55% of internet traffic in the United States. This is the first time for mobile apps to have surpassed PCs in internet usage in the US. The majority of traffic was driven by mobile applications (47%) while mobile browsers accounted for 8%. PCs made up 45% of traffic.
A significant portion of the shift to mobile apps appears to be driven by women. According to a Nielson study run on Q4 of 2013, women spent five additional hours on mobile apps in Q4 2013 over the previous quarter. Men only spent an additional two hours during this period. In Q4 2013, women spent 30 hours and 58 minutes on media via a mobile app and men spent 29 hours and 32 minutes.
The shift to mobile apps also follows a record decline in PC shipments, which fell by 10% from 2013 to 2012. Meanwhile, smartphone adoption increased by 39%. According to the Pew Research Center, as of January 2014, 90% of American adults had a cell phone, 58% of those were smart phones, 32% owned an e-reader and 42% owned a tablet computer.
Sources:
1) O'Toole, James. February 28 2014. Mobile Apps Overtake PC Internet Usage in U.S. CNN Money.
2) Sullivan, Laurie. March 5 2014. Women Log More Time Than Men On Mobile Apps, Web". SearchMarketingDaily.
3) Crum, Rex. January 9 2014. Gartner: 2013 had worst-ever drop in PC Sales. Marketwatch.
4) Pew Internet Research. December 27 2013. Mobile Technology Fact Sheet.
5) Image Source: https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/7910370882_e2d8bfd3b4_o.jpg