As we know, smartphone use continues to grow at an incredible rate. Currently, in the US, 45% of the adult population uses a smartphone and this number continues to grow each year. But, what about globally?

There are 7 billion people in the world. Approximately, 4 billion of them have smartphones. That’s crazy when you think about it. Essentially, more than half the world’s population is carrying a mini computer with them.

Marketing as we know it has completely changed. No longer will mobile be an option for marketing. It is fast becoming a must. You simply cannot ignore mobile anymore. The numbers do not lie.

It’s interesting to note in this chart the number of Android users. Apple isn’t even the second most popular manufacturer of mobile devices. This really comes into play when considering using an app for your mobile marketing.

Boxing yourself into an app, with the development time and all the hurdles of getting into the different app stores, is not always (in fact seldom) the way to go for your mobile marketing campaign. Often times it makes more sense to use a mobile website is combination with QR Codes, NFC or even SMS.

Plus, don’t forget about Windows. They are still a small percentage of the user pie but I wouldn’t completely count them out. Microsoft is bound and determined to be a major player in mobile.

Regardless of what you route you take, the important thing is to get started. As you will see below, mobile is booming!

This Infographic is produced by Coupon Audit (provides Finish Line coupon) and Wood Street, Inc.

A version of this post originally appeared on the Myqrosites blog.