The number of consumers using mobile devices as their primary gateway to the internet continues to increase, with many making the move away from PC-based internet usage, IDC has reported.
Leading the trend is the US, with Western Europe and Japan following at around two years behind. It is thought that the number of people using PCs to access the web will fall from 240 million in 2012 to 225 million in 2016, while the number of mobile users will rise from 174 million to 265 million.
This means that in 2015 there will be more US consumers accessing the Internet through mobile devices instead of PCs for the first time ever.
Karsten Weide, programme VP of media & entertainment at IDC, said: "In the consumer world, mobile internet usage is already beginning to displace PC usage, and the United States is leading this trend.
"There has been much talk about how the future of the internet will be mobile first and PC second. In the United States, that future is now."
The IDC report has also found that online PC activities will decrease, with the number of people using social networks such as Facebook on their PCs dropping from 66 per cent in 2012 to 52 per cent in 2016. Furthermore, the report suggests that international mobile advertising will almost quintuple from $6 billion to $28.8 billion in 2016.
Meanwhile, worldwide business-to-consumer (B2C) m-commerce spending looks set to grow six fold between 2011 and 2016, reaching $223 billion at the end of the forecast period.
"The Great PC Exodus on the Internet is happening because the PC was never truly a consumer product," added Weide. "Many consumers use them because there was no better alternative. Now, with the huge and growing installed base of more user-friendly tablets and smartphones, there are."

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