Mobile Marketing Statistics Every Business Should Know in 2025

Mobile isn’t just a trend anymore, it’s where most people live their digital lives. From scrolling social feeds to ordering dinner, nearly everything happens on a phone. For marketers, this shift means success often depends on understanding mobile-first behavior and making decisions backed by real numbers.

In this guide, you’ll find the most important mobile marketing statistics, recent case studies, and practical takeaways that can help your business stay ahead in 2025.

Quick Mobile Marketing Statistics in 2025

Here are the headline numbers shaping mobile marketing today:

• 63% of global web traffic comes from mobile devices (Statcounter, Dec 2024)
• 99.3% of social media users access platforms on mobile (Meta data)
• 54.5% of U.S. holiday online purchases in 2024 were made on smartphones (Adobe Analytics)
• $258.6 billion in U.S. internet ad revenue in 2024, up 14.9% year-over-year (IAB/PwC)
• 70% of global ecommerce sales now come from mobile devices (Insider Intelligence)
• One-third of global mobile subscriptions will be 5G by the end of 2025, totaling 2.9 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report)
• 5.8 billion unique mobile subscribers worldwide in 2025, with 4.7 billion smartphone users (GSMA)
• Domino’s generates 85% of U.S. sales through digital channels, most of it mobile (company filings)
• Starbucks gets about one-third of its U.S. transactions through mobile orders (earnings reports)
• YouTube watch time on TV screens has now surpassed mobile in the U.S. (YouTube CEO letter, 2024)
• Apple Mail dominates email opens, making most mobile-first (Litmus data)
• SMS campaigns can drive 30%+ higher engagement than email in retail (vendor case studies)
• Push notification opt-in rates average 50%+ on iOS and 80%+ on Android (Airship benchmarks)
• Global app downloads surpassed 250 billion in 2024, with consumer spending hitting $170 billion (Sensor Tower)

These figures tell a clear story: mobile is the foundation of modern marketing, but the way people use devices is evolving quickly. It’s not just about small screens anymore—it’s about cross-device behavior, where mobile and connected TV (CTV) work together.

Why Mobile Marketing Matters in 2025

Mobile is now the primary customer touchpoint. People use phones for discovery, browsing, and buying. For example, in the 2024 holiday season, more than half of online purchases in the U.S. happened on smartphones. That wasn’t just impulse buying—it reflected how comfortable people have become with shopping, checking out, and even handling returns directly on their phones.

The rollout of 5G networks adds another layer of opportunity. With one-third of global mobile subscriptions expected to be 5G by the end of this year, marketers can deliver richer video, faster-loading mobile pages, and more immersive retail experiences. This means interactive ads, shoppable video, and AR campaigns will become more practical for mainstream audiences.

But it’s not just a mobile-only world anymore. Platforms like YouTube now report more viewing on TV screens than on mobile in the U.S., a signal that consumers are blending experiences. For marketers, this shift suggests the best strategies are those that connect mobile-first creative with CTV, making sure your brand appears wherever people are watching.

Mobile Advertising and Spend Trends

Advertising budgets are following where attention goes. In 2024, U.S. internet ad revenue reached $258.6 billion, growing 14.9% year-over-year, and much of that growth came from formats designed for mobile: video, retail media, search, and social.

Digital Video Growth

Short-form video continues to dominate mobile feeds, with TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts leading the way. But marketers are also learning to balance that with longer-form creative on TV screens, since YouTube has tipped toward connected TVs. A brand might use 6-second vertical videos to grab attention on mobile and then retarget those same users with longer ads on YouTube TV.

Paid Social on Mobile

Social media remains overwhelmingly mobile-driven. Around 99% of Facebook users access the platform via mobile, which means any campaign that isn’t built for small screens is likely to underperform. Vertical video, mobile-first landing pages, and captions optimized for silent autoplay are all best practices that align with how people actually consume content.

Search and Retail Media

Mobile search ads still play a huge role in customer journeys. What’s new is the surge in retail media networks like Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart, where ads are often clicked and purchased entirely on smartphones. The retail media category is growing faster than almost any other, giving brands another reason to make mobile a priority in their paid strategies.

Regional and Industry Variations

Mobile marketing is particularly important in industries where transactions are quick and repeatable. In retail, the ease of mobile checkout drives conversions. In travel, booking apps dominate. In finance, mobile banking adoption has skyrocketed. Each sector has its own benchmarks, but the common thread is the same: customers expect smooth mobile experiences from start to finish.

Mobile Messaging, Email, and Engagement

Phones are not just where people browse and shop—they’re also where they connect. Messaging, notifications, and email all play critical roles in keeping customers engaged after the first click.

SMS Marketing Benchmarks

SMS remains one of the most direct and effective mobile channels. In retail, text campaigns often deliver 30–40% open rates and 20–30% click-through rates, numbers that outperform email in most sectors. Case studies from ecommerce brands using platforms like Attentive show that well-timed text offers can lift revenue significantly—sometimes adding 10–20% more incremental sales during key promotions.

Push Notifications

Push notifications reach users even when they’re not browsing. Opt-in rates vary: over 80% for Android and about 50% for iOS, according to Airship benchmarks. Engagement is highest when notifications are personalized and time-sensitive, such as a travel app sending a boarding pass or a retailer offering a discount that expires in a few hours. For marketers, the takeaway is simple: generic push alerts get ignored, but contextual ones drive action.

Mobile Email Behavior

Email is still essential, but the way people read it has shifted. Apple Mail and Gmail dominate the email client market, with the majority of opens now happening on mobile devices. This makes design critical: emails must render well on small screens, load quickly, and avoid long blocks of text. Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) has also changed how marketers track engagement.

Instead of relying solely on open rates, businesses now need to measure clicks, conversions, and downstream activity to get a true picture of performance.

Mobile Apps and User Retention

The mobile app economy is huge, but also competitive. Global app downloads surpassed 250 billion in 2024, with consumer spending reaching around $170 billion. That’s a massive opportunity, but most apps struggle with retention.

Installs and CPI Trends

Acquiring users through paid installs is getting more expensive. Cost-per-install (CPI) for popular categories like gaming and finance apps can be several dollars per user. For marketers, this means focusing less on installs alone and more on the long-term value of users.

Retention and Engagement Challenges

App retention drops sharply after the first few days. On average, only 25% of users return to an app after the first day, and less than 5% are still active after 30 days. This highlights the importance of onboarding flows, personalized push messages, and loyalty programs to keep users engaged.

Case Study Insight

One finance app that leaned into personalized messaging saw its 30-day retention rate climb from 4% to 12% simply by sending contextual reminders tied to account activity. The lesson: engagement strategies can often triple retention without increasing acquisition spend.

Final Thoughts

Mobile has become the center of digital life, and the numbers prove it. From 63% of global web traffic to 70% of ecommerce sales happening on mobile, the opportunities are too large to ignore. Add in the rollout of 5G networks, the growth of mobile-first ad spend, and case studies like Domino’s and Starbucks, and it’s clear: businesses that prioritize mobile experiences see stronger results.

But mobile doesn’t live in isolation anymore. Consumers are watching YouTube on TV screens, shopping in apps, and responding to texts while scrolling social feeds. That means the smartest strategies are the ones that connect mobile-first creative with other touchpoints, making sure the message fits wherever the customer is.

Use these statistics not just as numbers, but as signposts. They point to where attention, behavior, and money are moving. If your marketing aligns with these shifts, you’ll be well-positioned to grow in 2025.

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