An average consumer now spends three hours per day on their smartphones (an increase of 55% from 2015 ), which surpasses time spent on TV or any other media. Social media and messaging apps accounted for almost 50% of all time spent on smartphones.

The study also found that women spend twice as much time as men on their smartphones looking at YouTube and games.

Online shopping is growing in importance and now has 15% higher reach than the entertainment category, making it the second most popular category in terms of reach.

Hemant Mehta, senior vice-president, media and retail, Kantar IMRB, said: "Mobile has had an out-sized influence on the way consumers interact with each other, make decisions, transact and shop. This has significantly impacted the way companies and brands connect with their consumers and do business. But we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. With the advent of 4G, reduced data costs and free voice and SMS, we expect to see even more rapid changes in the mobile landscape."