Mary Meeker recently released her 2018 Internet Trends report. Here are some highlights from that report.

• More than half of the world’s population is now online – 3.6B. This leaves fewer unconnected people who need smartphones or internet service. As a result, there was zero growth in the number of smartphones shipped in 2017, and internet use grew only by 7%, down from 12% the previous year.
• There was an increase in the amount of time spent online, with US adults at 5.9 hours per day spent on digital media (up three-tenths of an hour from 2016). Just over half of those hours spent online were spent on mobile devices, which accounts for the overall growth in consumption of digital media.
• The worldwide average price of smartphones has continued to drop, even in the face of expensive popular devices such as iPhones and Samsung Galaxy Notes. Lower device cost has spurred smartphone adoption in less-developed parts of the world.
• It has gotten easier to make mobile payments. In 2017 in China, there were over 500M active mobile payment users.
• Voice is exploding. For example, the use of Amazon Echo devices in the US grew from 20M in Q3 2017 to >30M in Q4 2017. That’s an increase of over 10M devices in three months.
• The desire to provide a better customer experience is colliding with violating consumer privacy.
• Big tech is becoming more competitive. Google Ads is being joined by Google Home Ordering. Amazon is moving into advertising.
• More is being spent on healthcare by individuals, which can lead to a greater focus on value by the consumer. Meeker wonders if health care prices will finally be affected by market forces to drive down costs.
• Healthcare companies continue moving into the retail market, offering retail experiences such as more convenient locations, digital transactions and on-demand pharmacy services.
• Technology will disrupt the job sector, with on-demand and internet-related jobs starting to predominate.