Have you ever walked into a presentation with the impression that you’d already know the gist of its content, but to your surprise and delight, you were left totally taken aback by what you learned? Our “Google and the Future of the Internet” event last month was one of those rare treats. It struck right to the heart of where data-driven digital culture is heading when it comes to marketing to Gen Z and the meteoric rise of the mobile-first user.

We’re excited to let you in on a few quick stats the Google team shared with us about how they see the future of mobile that left our jaws on the floor. Go ahead and buckle in.

Small-screen content is outpacing TV

In the US, YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any broadcast or cable TV network — on mobile alone. Millennials might’ve been mobile pioneers, but Gen Z are complete natives. They aren’t channel surfing, but they are watching more video than ever.

They engage with of-the-moment content and aren’t big on brand loyalty. And we’ve got to stay nimble as their tastes change: Gen Z will be our customers for decades to come, and they don’t like to wait.

Over half of Google searches are now mobile

Back in 1998 when Google was still riding with training wheels, it only dealt with 10,000 daily searches. That number is now more like 5 billion each day, amounting to of Google searches across the globe every year.

If those numbers themselves aren’t staggering enough, consider that over half of those searches are now on mobile. Puts “mobile takeover” into perspective, doesn’t it?

New phones mark a major milestone for teens

Gen Z is now over a quarter of the U.S. population, with $44 billion in annual buying power. Their attention isn’t on desktop or even tablet screens: For them, it’s all about the phone as a relationship-building and identity-defining tool.

They start and end every day by scrolling through updates in their social universe, and it’s also their all-hours entertainment and shopping hub. Along with graduating from high school and getting a driver’s license, phones now serve as a serious rite of passage.

Brands have 3 seconds to capture attention

Fifty-three percent of visitors abandon mobile sites that take more than three seconds to load. If you need to go impulsively time your own site’s load time in a new tab right now, we feel you.

That’s a pretty short window of opportunity, especially with brand-agnostic Gen Z. Fifty-one percent of smartphone users purchase from brands other than the one they intended to because the information provided was useful, putting convenience squarely above loyalty in the chain of command. This leads us to the most important piece of all: moments

Click here to test your websites load times. Google Page Speed Tool

It’s time to get moments down to a science

How often do you unlock your phone? Don’t care to wonder? Google did the research for you: Consumers unlock their phones about 150 times a day. The customer journey is now fractured into a series of intent-driven moments that only last as long as our attention spans.

There’s just no way to take advantage of your customers’ each and every mobile moment. That’s why it’s becoming more and more about figuring out which moments to hone in on. These are your customers’ want-do-do, want-do-know, want-to-buy interactions.

Investing in the world of real-time moments is how you reach your audience at the right time and place. Do you know which ones you need to hit to win your customers’ attention?

Another perspective can make a big difference

Get in touch with us for a complimentary strategy session to learn how you can successfully use mobile as a direct response channel that generates leads and not just page views. You’ll have the opportunity to ask difficult questions to our Sr. Strategists and discover new ideas, all with no strings attached.