Prepare for a future with fewer cars, search bars, and smartphones — but way more ads


Mary Meeker's annual internet trends report is understood in the industry to be a kind of barometer for the future of the web and tech. At 213 slides long, the 2016 report is densely packed with data, but the main takeaways include slowed growth in internet and smartphone adoption, a boom in voice-driven searches, and growth in the American auto industry, with the downside being people are going to start buying fewer cars. Oh, and brace yourself for when advertisers finally realize how to utilize the internet to its fullest potential.
Internet and smartphone adoption are slowing way down.
The global internet adoption rate was flat year-over-year at 9 percent, with access currently reaching about 42 percent of the world's population. However, smartphone sales are actually dropping off as time goes on; phones are now good enough to not require the purchase of a new one every year. Interestingly, the sale of ambient devices, like the Amazon Echo, are growing even as Apple iPhone sales drop off.
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Say "so long" to search bars.
Search bars are going the way of the dinosaurs. Meeker predicts that in five years, at least 50 percent of searches are going to be either images or speech.
The U.S. is poised to shape the future of the car.
With Google and Tesla paving the way for innovation in the auto industry, the U.S. could reverse a decades-long decline in auto sales. That being said, car ownership is expected to fall as Uber and UberPool become increasingly more popular.
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Advertisers are missing a huge opportunity with the web.
Meeker's data shows that advertisers and ad agencies are grossly under-utilizing the potential of online advertising, preferring to stick with traditional media like print, radio, and TV. By Meeker's estimate, this oversight means advertisers are under-spending on mobile by $22 billion. Right now, internet revenue is primarily dominated by Google and Facebook, who control 76 percent of the market — and that number is only rising. What's more, ad blocking is up 96 percent year-over-year — in part because people really, really hate video ads. Advertisers need to figure out how to be less invasive and annoying if they want to keep getting seen.
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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