The future’s bright, and it’s mobile

Last month, digital measurement and analytics firm comScore published 2013 UK Digital Future in Focus, a comprehensive overview of the UK internet market.

The report is a rich resource of highly-useful insights, with a compelling assessment of the prevailing trends in web usage, online video, mobile and search, plus a special review of social, shopping and silver surfers.

According to the study, UK consumers are more digitally-engaged than ever before and their usage of mobile, internet-enabled devices is re-defining the UK media landscape.

ComScore’s UK Managing Director, Mike Read, says that two-thirds of UK mobile phone owners have smartphones, and devices such as smartphone and tablets now drive nearly a third of internet usage.

Here are five key takeaways from the report:

1. 44.8 million people in the UK used the desktop-based internet in December 2012, a 5 percent increase over the past year. Brits also spent more time online than any other European country, highlighting the market’s fertile ground for digital marketers.
2. Page views from non-PC devices reached an all-time high with nearly one-third of all UK page views now from smartphones and tablets.
3. 64 percent of UK mobile users owned a smartphone, while 82 percent of new phones acquired in December 2012 were smartphones. The rapid adoption of internet-enabled devices is creating a more fragmented digital media landscape.
4. Facebook remains the leading social network in the UK, capturing the greatest number of unique visitors. However, there are some rising stars on the horizon - Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest and Goodreads - that have all witnessed strong growth over the year across both PC and mobile.
5. Online shopping now reaches 9 out of 10 UK internet users, while mobile shopping is growing rapidly as 1 in 5 Brits used their smartphone to purchase a good or service in December 2012.

It’s pretty clear that mobile is an area that will be increasingly significant for business in the immediate future (I wrote about getting ready for mobile on WebHostingBuzz’ US blog last week). If your web presence isn’t geared to delivering a great experience - fast and reliably - for people who come to see you on their mobile devices, you will soon be left behind.

ComScore’s report embraces a wide area of analysis and provides a great deal of credible information and useful metrics to help you understand what we saw happening in 2012 and what it means for you in 2013.

2013 UK Digital Future in Focus, a 75-page PDF packed with charts and graphs, is freely available for download.