On Smart Phones, Apps Rule, Not Web

Today, the U.S. consumer spends an average of 2 hours and 38 minutes each day on smart phones and tablets. And to illustrate the impact mobile apps have had, Flurry points out that  80 percent of that time (2 hours and 7 minutes) is spent inside “apps,” while just 20 percent (31 minutes) is spent on the mobile Web, defined by Flurry to include any use of a “mobile browser.”

So does that mean the "end of the Web?" Not necessarily. It is a truism that people do different things on their mobiles than on their PCs. For the former, apps rule, in terms of time of engagement. On PCs, the web arguably remains key.

Gaming apps remain the largest category of all apps used, representing 32 percent of time spent on a smart phone or tablet. Facebook is second with 18 percent.

One might argue that the amount of web usage is understated, since many people consume web content from inside the Facebook app, for example.

For example, when a Facebook user clicks on a friend’s link or article, that content is shown inside the app without launching a native web browser.

The average number of apps launched per day by consumers climbs from 7.2 in 2010 to 7.5 in 2011 and finally to 7.9 in 2012.

Assertions that people are using fewer apps in 2012 than they did in 2010 appear to be incorrect, Flurry argues. Consumers use about eight apps each day.

Does this mean the web is dead? “We don’t believe so,” Flurry says. “On the contrary, we believe that the web will change and adapt to the reality of smartphones and tablets.”

That likely means websites will look and behave more like apps. Websites will be optimized for user experience first and search engine optimization second.

The launch on April 4, 2013 of Facebook Home provides one example of the growing “mobile first” orientation app providers are adopting.

Consumers are spending an average of nearly 30 minutes per day on Facebook, on mobiles, Flurry suggests.  The 30 minutes a day is a worldwide average which means a large group spends even more time on Facebook (possibly hours).