I’ve been waiting for this statistic since the summer. Last month, I figured we were super close.
Apps have finally surpassed browsers in mobile content usage, according to comScore data for November 2011. It’s only 0.5% difference, which is not really even statistically significant. Apps can barely declare victory here.
Here’s a look at the historical data:
Source: comScore MobiLens
In the immediate future, the trend should hold with apps enjoying more popularity than browsers. And lest this data should be used in an attempt to win the mobile site vs. app debate, it’s more of a reminder that a holistic marketing strategy is best (Read my free white paper on holistic mobile marketing here [PDF]). Despite the popularity of apps, browser use is still growing too.
This isn’t the first shift we’ve seen in mobile content usage. Back in September 2010, social networking overtook gaming in popularity.
Source: comScore MobiLens
While both have continued to grow, social networking continues its dominance over gaming. Meanwhile, mobile gaming’s growth has still been able to shake things up in the larger gaming industry.
