By 2021, 76% of Russians will own a smartphone

By 2021, 76% of Russians will own a smartphone. Is that a lot? Is that a little? Well, like most statistics, context defines the significance. According to the Pew Research Center, 77% of Americans currently own a smartphone. So looking three years into the future, a lesser percentage of Russians will own a smartphone than current day Americans.

It’s this lagging maturation that leads many to refer to Russia as a ‘desktop first’ market. Remember how much easier advertising was in the ol’ ‘desktop first’ days here in the US? Much less to worry about – easier tracking – more efficient monetization; and it’s this allure that has led many large international advertisers to turn to Russia for accelerated user acquisition.