Last week, Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins and a well-known industry analyst gave her annual internet trends report. Her presentation was almost 30 minutes long, during which she covered a whopping total of 213 slides. Which means there was a ton of really great information. For your viewing pleasure, I have boiled it down to what I believe are the top six takeaways marketers should pay attention to.
Or, you can watch the entire presentation for yourself.
In 5 Years, Expect 50% of Searches to be Images or Voice
We’ve already seen a huge growth in speech searches, but the idea of image searches is still fairly new. This stat makes it clear that brands need to stop trying to use outdated SEO tactics and focus on using a more conversational tone to mimic the way consumers will search in the future.
Internet Ads Work, But Have a Ways To Go
One of the stats that stood out to me is that 91% of internet users have considered using ad blockers. For publishers like SEJ, who rely on users seeing these ads, and brands that rely on ads to drive sales, this could be huge.
Mary says: “If there has ever been a call to arms to create better ads, this is it.”
Lately, native advertising has become more popular, and I believe is likely to continue growing as ad blocker usage increases.
Globally, Internet Growth is Flat
In fact, it is actually decelerating if you exclude India, which is now the #2 market for internet users behind China. This means there is no longer a nearly endless stream of new internet users we can count on to click on bad ads and read poorly written content.
More people who are using the internet have been here a while and are getting savvy. It is time stop trying to trick and start providing real value.
Smartphone Growth is Slowing
In addition to overall slow in growth of mobile phone usage and sales, Android phones showed gains over iOS, which means marketers who are ignoring Android need to rethink that strategy. Keep in mind, this is a slow in growth, which means there is still growth. So, this isn’t a sky is falling type of stat, but a reminder that no one stays on top forever. Mobile definitely still matters.
The Internet Represents 10% of Retail Sales, Compared to Less Than 2% In 2000
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that sales over the internet have grown in the last 16 years, but what is very interesting about this is it shows 90% of sales are still happening in person. This represents a huge area of growth for e-commerce.
Final Takeaway: Adjust for Slower Growth, Higher Debt, and An Aging Population
These trends help highlight the risks marketers face, but also uncovers opportunities for brands who are willing to innovate, learn to work more effectively, and provide a better user experience.
What are your thoughts after watching her presentation? I would love to hear what your favorite takeaway was in the comments section.
Image Credits:
Featured Image: Shutterstock | VintageTone
Inpost Image: Screenshot Of Linked Video Taken By Writer
