PCs and laptops losing race with mobile phones

According to data presented by CasinosEnLigne, 58% of internet users owned a PC or laptop last year, or 8.1% less than in 2021.

Ownership rate and share of web traffic both declined

The latest drop in the number of PC and laptop owners comes as inflation continues to crumble consumer purchasing power. At the same time, PCs and laptops are losing the race with mobile phones, undoubtedly the number one device for using the internet among all generations.

Although half of all devices used for browsing the net witnessed their ownership rates decline in 2022, PCs and laptops saw some of the biggest year-over-year drops.

According to the Digital 2023 Global Overview Report, an impressive 95.9% of internet users owned a mobile phone last year, 0.3% less than in 2021. Tablets saw a much more significant drop, with their user share falling by 3.2% year-over-year to 33.7% globally.

Feature phones were owned by 7.9% of internet users, or 10.2% less than in 2021. Statistics show the ownership rate in the game console segment remained the same, while smart home devices and virtual reality devices saw the biggest growth. Last year, 16.4% of internet users owned a smart home device or 16.3% more than a year before. VR devices saw a huge 16.7% annual growth and were owned by 5.6% of internet users.

But besides a considerable ownership rate drop, PCs and laptops also lost their shares of web traffic. According to the survey, mobile phones made 59% of total web traffic last year, showing a 10% jump year-over-year. On the other hand, laptops and PCs made up 38.9% of total web traffic in 2022, or 10.4% less than a year before. Tablets saw an even worse downturn, with their share plunging by 19.8% year-over-year to 1.98%.

Global spending on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones to drop by $36.5bn in 2023

While mobile phones remain the most owned device among internet users and the number one device for web browsing, they will also see a significant drop in global demand this year.

According to a Garter survey, consumers worldwide will spend $685.6bn on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones in 2023, or 5% less than last year. The latest downturn comes after a 10% decline in 2022 when global spending on IT devices amounted to $722.1bn.

According to Gartner, the total two-year drop in global consumer spending on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones is expected to hit a whopping $150bn this year.