Every year, famed venture capitalist Mary Meeker publishes a slide deck that touches upon key current trends in technology. The presentation draws wide industry attention both because of its depth — this year’s edition comes in at a massive 333 slides — and because Meeker has a long track record of correctly calling where the digital economy is headed next.

The 2019 Internet Trends report is special because it’s the first Meeker (pictured) has released since launching her new venture capital fund. She previously spent eight years at Kleiner Perkins, a stint that was preceded by a long and storied career as a Morgan Stanley Group Co. securities analyst.

The first topic the 2019 report looks at is the growth of the web. Internet access is now more pervasive than ever thanks to the fact that the number of people online rose to 3.8 billion in 2018, or 51% of the world. But as the web cements its importance in modern life, new growth becomes harder to find. When viewed in terms of percentages, the number of people with internet access rose by 6% last year compared with 7% in 2017 and 12% in 2016.

A similar slowdown is playing out in the mobile market. Smartphone shipments dropped 4% in 2018, Meeker pointed out, a statistic made particularly notable by the fact that sales were already flat the year prior.

But as some of the more established parts of the digital economy slow down, others continue their rapid ascent. One of the biggest winners of 2018 was Amazon.com Inc.’s ever-expanding Echo family of Alexa smart speakers. The number of Echo devices installed in homes worldwide roughly doubled, to more than 47 million, which doesn’t account for the countless other partner-developed gadgets that support Alexa.

Meeker put the spotlight on several other high-growth segments as well. The number of Americans using wearables has roughly doubled between 2014 and 2018, while on-demand services such as ride-hailing apps achieved similar growth since 2016. As user interest grows, so does the number of people working through these platforms: Uber Technologies Inc. alone now boasts about 4 million drivers worldwide.

In parallel with the major market changes driven by on-demand services, e-commerce continues to reshape retail. Online transactions accounted for 15 percent of all retail sales in 2018, which represents an impressive 12.4% increase over the previous year.

Many of the trends Meeker highlighted in her report are driven largely by the tech industry’s most established players. Amazon.com dominates the e-commerce market, while Google LLC and Facebook Inc. account for the bulk of online ad spending. Meeker pointed out that seven of the world’s 10 most valuable companies by market capitalization are now tech firms.

She also touched upon a number of other topics, including the fast-growing Chinese digital economy and the evolution of medicine. The same tech giants driving the adoption of consumer technologies such as smart speakers are pioneering new healthcare models. Apple Inc.’s ResearchKit allows clinicians use the Apple Watch for clinical research, while Google and Microsoft Corp. are building artificial intelligence systems that can help diagnose disease. 

Mary Meeker’s full 2019 Internet Trends report is available here.

Photo: Kleiner Perkins