20 Highlights from Meeker’s Tech State of the Union Report

20 Highlights from Meeker's Tech State of the Union Report

Each year Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers publishes a comprehensive report outlining everything happening in the technology space. We went through all 355 slides, and picked 20 highlights that we thought you should know. If you’re interested in the full report, click here to see it.

State of Tech Highlights

1) Daily dose of tech

People now spend an average of 3.1hrs on mobile and 2.2hrs on a desktop/laptop per day

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

2) Steady gains in online advertising

Online advertising has accelerated into a $73 billion industry in just the US alone

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

3) Mobile advertising shift

When it comes to the big 5 advertising mediums, mobile is the only source which we spend the least amount of marketing dollars on in comparison to the actual time we spend.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

4) Adblocking

Naturally as online advertising grows, adblocking software will be on the rise. Here are the desktop vs mobile stats for the countries who use the most adblocking.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

5) Viewer perceptions of incentive based video ads

Mobile app rewards were seen as the most effective video ads (68% positive), while mobile app pop-ups ads were seen as the most ineffective (81% negative).

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

6) Big brands are leveraging UGC

Businesses are starting to incorporate user generated content into their social media strategies, especially on Instagram.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

7) Voice-based technologies

Voice-based technologies such as the Amazon Echo are hitting substantial growth numbers.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

8) Voice Recognition Accuracy

Google’s machine learning voice-based back-end has successfully exceeded the 95% human accuracy threshold. Exciting times are ahead now that technology has finally caught up with what our expectations are.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

9) Customer’s want real-time service

Online chats and text messaging are on the rise, and becoming the norm for how customers want to communicate with your brand when they have an enquiry. Companies are responding to these chats at a faster rate, and decreasing the wait time for their customers.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

10) Apartment building’s turning into warehouses

There were over 10 billion packages and parcels delivered in 2016. Building managers and landlords are now looking to expand their storage space in order to accommodate the overwhelming number of deliveries.

11) Historic numbers in retail closures on the way

E-commerce has impacted the way we shop, so much so that the number of retail shop closures may break a 20 year record in 2017 (currently sitting at 7,000 retail unit closures).

I don’t think retail is dead. Mediocre retail experiences are dead.

— Neil Blumenthal, Co -CEO @ Warby Parker

12) E-commerce leading the way

The e-commerce industry almost hit the $400 billion number last year, growing at an impressive rate of 15%.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

13) Interactive games = tech innovation

Global interactive gaming is evolving rapidly and considered to be in the early days of growth. Currently there are an estimated 2.6 billion gamers in comparison to 100 million in 1995. E-sport competitions are now selling out major stadiums around the globe. Large prize pools are attracting gamers from all over the globe. The prize pool for DOTA 2 alone was $20.8 million in 2016.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

14) Gaming demographics

Digital games have been making an impact on our lives since their emergence in the 1970’s. Gaming is now a well-balanced all ages market.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

15) Video gaming = most engaging form of social media

People are now spending more time with video games than Facebook or any other social channel.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins
When I play a video game, it’s the only time I put away the phone and forget it exists. Video games command your attention in a way that nothing else can or will.

— Gary Whitta , Screenwriter, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

16) Gaming tools are improving human performance

Athletes use virtual reality to get an edge on their competition. They are experimenting with running new potential plays, and able to analyse multiple in-game scenarios at a faster rate than before. Gamification is now widely used in a variety of industries including: education, healthcare training, fitness, combat, dating, social media, finance, restaurants, and more.

I do think this dynamic around kids growing up, building games, and playing games, is an important one because I think this is how a lot of kids get into programming. I definitely wouldn’t have gotten into programming if I hadn’t played games.

— Mark Zuckerberg, CEO Facebook

17) There’s a powershift happening in video streaming

It’s crazy and exciting how fast new technology can cause a massive powershift. Just look at what’s happened in just 4 years with video streaming in the graph below.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

Fixed-access Video Traffic Share Leaders

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

18) Finding Balance: Developer / designer ratio

It’s common knowledge that advancements in technology are directly correlated with the number of developers and engineers on your team, however the number of designers needed to to succeed has often been overlooked. In the past seven years, there’s been a increase in the number of designers required to feed the development team.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

19) Alarming numbers of spam and scams

There’s been a 350%+ increase in network breaches due to email spam and phishing. Cyber threats are rising with over 10 million identities exposed in just 15 headline breaches in 2016.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

20) Tech companies leading the way

Tech companies now account for 40% of the top 20 and 100% of the top 100 companies on the Global Market Capitalization Leaderboard in 2017.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins

This massive shift has been largely due to expansion towards new sectors. Most of the successful tech companies have evolved into a variety of sectors which are a long way from where they originally started. Diversification is key to sustaining continual growth in the tech world.

Source: Internet Trends 2017 Code Conference Presentation - Mary Meeker - Kleiner Perkins
This is just a small taste of what we thought were some of the most interesting highlights of Meeker’s report. If you want to indulge in one of the most comphrensive tech reports on the market, click the link below.