35% of the audience of the Runet do not use a computer for the Internet at all

Use only mobile internet. Source: Omnibus GFK-Rus, all of Russia, population 16+

According to GfK statistics , in 2018, the proportion of Russians who go online only from mobile devices and do not use personal computers for this has dramatically increased. Over the year, the “purely mobile” audience has grown from 18% to 35%.

Among the youngest users, 41% do not have computers or are not used for the Internet. The situation is not too different for middle-aged people: 30%. At this rate, smartphones may soon become the main device for accessing the Internet . Some experts say this has already happened.

The mobile audience in Russia is now circumventing the desktop: “Mobile Internet is the Internet, and the desktop for developers has already become a special case,” Karen Ghazaryan, leading analyst of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, told Kommersant. But the expert noted that there will not be a fully mobile Internet in Russia for a long time, since the level of PC is high, unlike in developing countries.

However, it’s too early to bury the wired Internet, because it is indispensable for watching TV and high-definition video - this was the conclusion made by analysts of Deloitte in 2017, when the trend of switching to mobile devices began to be seen. Mobile access is also not fast enough and reliable for telemedicine and educational services. On the other hand, the transition to 5G networks with gigabit speeds will increase the efficiency of mobile networks.

At the end of 2018, 59% of Russians who took part in the survey said they use the Internet on a smartphone. Their number is growing rapidly and in the approximation is already 73 million people. But the popularity of tablets seems to be declining.


Mobile Internet penetration is 61% (smartphones + tablets). Source: Omnibus GFK-Rus, all of Russia, population 16+

The report “Internet penetration in Russia: the results of 2018” (pdf) also contains basic indicators of the Russian segment. Over the past year, the RuNet audience has increased by 3 million people, and penetration has reached 75.4%, i.e. 90 million.


Internet penetration in Russia. Source: Omnibus GFK-Rus, all of Russia, population 16+

In some age groups, penetration is close to the maximum (99% among Russians are 16-29 years old), therefore, in some Russian-language sites, the audience has almost stopped growing. But this does not mean that further growth in principle is impossible. For example, Mail.ru Group CEO Boris Dobrodeev is counting on the growth of the audience, including due to the growth of involvement: “At the same time, one can predict the growth of other user interaction platforms: Smart TV, access to offline and omni-channel. The user profile of the runet will be increasingly enriched by integrating into new platforms, ” he said .


Internet penetration in age groups. Source: Omnibus GFK-Rus, all of Russia, population 16+

“The rapid growth of the“ mobile only ”segment is changing the entire face of the Internet. In the near future, the Internet can become primarily mobile, and only secondarily by the desktop. For the Internet segment, this means a change of priorities in the development of digital products, communications and advertising. Manufacturers, retailers and content providers should already now make sure that their current products are ready for mobile users, ” commented Sergey Ketov, head of media research at GfK Rus.

The CEO of Telecom Daily, Denis Kuskov, noted that in Russia, until now, about 40% of households have not covered the fixed Internet: this is the potential audience of the mobile Internet only. Fixed Internet may not be used by tenants of apartments, as well as by young people who are used to portable electronics.

The representative of the mobile operator MTS, Alexei Merkutov, said that mobile devices are almost as good as stationary when solving everyday typical tasks: using instant messengers, working with e-mail, and social networks.

The All-Russian Omnibus GfK is a regular survey of the population of Russia aged 16 years and older in a representative national sample.