China Mobile Internet Traffic Hotspots: Which Sectors Dominate Consumer Attention?

China Marketing

China's overall mobile Internet traffic

By the end of the third quarter of 2024, China's mobile Internet traffic has seen a month-on-month growth rate of more than 1% for the second time in the year, with a net increase of 18.321 million independent devices in September compared to June. User stickiness has generally stabilized. Against the backdrop of competition for mobile Internet stocks, relevant companies still need to clarify user needs and provide differentiated services to enhance user stickiness and improve competitiveness.

Which industries are most attractive to Chinese consumers ?

Among the TOP25 first-level industries, 19 industries achieved positive year-on-year growth in traffic. Among them, communication chat leads the market with 1.279 billion monthly independent devices and 89.5% user penetration. Short video, financial management and other industries also show strong user appeal, with penetration rates exceeding 80%. The user penetration rate of industries such as female parenting and real estate services is relatively low, and the growth rate is limited, or even negative. As an emerging first-level industry, artificial intelligence is accelerating its penetration, and its influence and market potential cannot be underestimated.

In terms of total monthly usage time, short videos and communication chat are the top two industries in China that divide netizens' mobile usage time , and their leading advantage continues to expand. The total usage time of community social applications has also increased significantly compared with the same period last year. In terms of user daily usage time, among the top 10 industries, the usage time of aggregated information, video services, e-reading and community social industries has shown positive year-on-year growth, while the other six industries have declined.

Chinese mobile internet user preferences

Chinese netizens of different age groups have great differences in their industry preferences. The post-00s group tends to focus on entertainment content such as games and animation. The young group aged 25-30 prefers practical applications such as life services and job recruitment. The mature user group over 36 years old pays more attention to areas related to quality of life such as short dramas, cars, and insurance. These differences in preferences reflect the different needs of netizens of different ages in terms of life stages and interests.

User preferences also vary with city levels. Users in first-tier and new first-tier cities pay more attention to convenience and personal development, and tend to use fresh food e-commerce, workplace social networking and other applications, reflecting their pursuit of efficient life and career development. Users in third-tier and lower-tier cities are more keen on using games, videos and karaoke -related applications, reflecting their high demand for leisure and entertainment.

China's mobile internet industry segments

Real estate services

From July to September 2024, the user scale of China's mobile Internet real estate service industry achieved positive growth compared with the same period last year, indicating that the market has responded positively to policy adjustments and industry confidence has gradually recovered. Under the joint effect of national and local policies, especially the optimization of real estate market regulation policies, users' willingness to act has increased, and industry traffic and user activity have improved to a certain extent.

54.3% and married users accounted for 61.8% of the real estate service industry in September 2024 , and they are still the main contributors to the industry's traffic. At the same time, the proportion of young users under the age of 24 has increased significantly, and the traffic of fourth-tier and lower cities and unmarried users has increased strongly, reflecting the increase in demand for real estate services among relevant groups.

Car Information

As of September 2024, the number of active users of Autohome APP reached 65.99 million, up 7.6% year-on-year, and its industry influence has steadily increased. In the third quarter, Autohome continued to focus on users and build a content ecosystem. The AH+ brand matrix was rich and diverse, the evaluation system and gallery optimized the experience, and the multi-platform linkage promoted traffic growth. At the same time, Autohome's new retail was upgraded through activities, the " Satellite Plan " penetrated the sinking market, digital innovation products increased efficiency, and the used car business was strengthened. In addition, Autohome actively practiced ESG, demonstrating its corporate social responsibility.

Smart Wear

From July to September 2024, the year-on-year growth rate of the number of independent devices in the smart wearable industry increased month by month, reaching 11.8% in September, showing a strong growth momentum. At the same time, the frequency and duration of users' use of smart wearable applications continued to increase, and user activity was improved simultaneously, reflecting the increasing importance of the industry in users' daily lives.

Users of the smart wearable industry are mainly concentrated in new first-tier and third-tier cities, among which users aged 25-40 account for nearly 50%, and users with medium and high consumption power account for as high as 68.8%, highlighting the urbanization characteristics and strong economic strength of the user group , and providing the industry with a relatively clear high-value market positioning. In 2024, the number of independent devices in the AIGC track will double from 32.512 million at the beginning of the year to 82.811 million in September, and the penetration rate will increase from 2.3% to 5.8%. AIGC is rapidly spreading in the mobile Internet, with a significant increase in market acceptance and a growing market influence.

E-commerce

In 2024, the overall traffic of the e-commerce industry showed an upward trend year-on-year, with only a slight decline in February. The scale of active users grew steadily in the third quarter, market demand continued to rise, and the industry showed steady development potential.

Among them, online shopping dominated traffic and user attention, while movie ticket traffic decreased by more than 10% year-on-year. Among comprehensive e-commerce, JD.com's traffic increased steadily in the third quarter, Taobao fluctuated, and Pinduoduo and Vipshop were relatively stable. Each platform competed for the market through strategic adjustments, competition intensified, and the industry structure adjusted dynamically.

Lifestyle Services

In 2024, the year-on-year growth rate of traffic in the life service industry will remain at a high level of more than 10% in each month . The number of independent devices in the third quarter will increase month by month, and the number of active users in September will reach 1.142 billion. At the same time, the effective usage time of a single machine per day is stable at around 10 minutes, and the user activity is relatively high. The industry's user base in the mobile Internet field has steadily expanded, and the market penetration rate has increased simultaneously. Dianping: Relying on the coordinated development of content ecology and brand strategy, it promotes the expansion of active user scale and the wide radiation of brand influence .

Community Social

In 2024, the overall user scale of China's mobile Internet community social industry showed steady growth, with the average number of monthly independent devices in the third quarter reaching 875 million, and the average year-on-year growth rate reaching 4.9%, reflecting the broad appeal of industry platforms among users . Although the overall trend is positive , the development speed and market performance of each segment are different, which may point to the diversification of user needs and the personalized trend of platform services, requiring each platform to make more precise market positioning and strategy adjustments in content innovation and user experience.

As a typical community platform, Zhihu 's business model continued to evolve in 2024. By launching new content products and introducing AI functions, Zhihu continued to expand its commercialization channels and market influence, reflecting its foresight and leadership in content ecosystem construction and business model innovation.