The Importance of Mobile Websites for Smartphone & Tablet Users

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The Importance of Mobile Websites for Smartphone & Tablet Users

Is your website mobile-friendly?

Did you know that mobile traffic makes up over 55% of global Internet traffic?

Did you know that in the US alone, mobile e-commerce are forecast to reach $12 Billion by the end of this year?

Purchases made on mobile devices amounted to $6.7 billion in the U.S. in 2013 and nearly doubled to $11.6 billion in 2014. And by the end of this year, U.S. mobile sales are forecast to more than double yet again to reach $31 billion.

With these positive statistics, just 21% of business had launched mobile friendly websites in 2011, according to Jesse Haines, group marketing manager for Google Mobile Ads. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not your company should invest in mobile websites, here are the top 3 reasons why you must.

1. Over Half of U.S. Consumer Own a Smartphone

The importance of a mobile website is becoming increasingly important. According to the Pew Research, almost two-thirds of U.S. consumers own a smartphone, up from 58% in 2014. And, roughly 50% of consumers own a tablet or e-reader. To put this into perspective for you, the number of tablet owners has almost quadrupled since October 2011 when only 14% of U.S. consumers had a registered tablet.

A report from the Consumer Electronics Association revealed that 66% of online consumers plan to purchase a tablet in the future, and tablets took the No. 1 gift on the wish list among adults this year. If your company’s website isn’t mobile friendly, shoppers are going to seek out a competitor’s mobile-friendly site instead of switching to a PC to revisit yours. It really is all about accessibility these days.

2. US Advertisers Continue Shift to Online Ads 

Take a look at this chart by Statista.

Infographic: U.S. Advertisers Continue Shift to Online Ads | Statista
You will find more statistics at Statista

According to comScore, mobile e-commerce spending is expected to reach some $11 Billion.

M-commerce (mobile commerce) revenue has seen a significant increase for about 5 years, with no expectations to slow down. After customers view your ad on their smartphone or tablet, they want to be able to view the product. Your website must be ready for this!

3. Dramatic increase in mobile shopping

There has been a dramatic increase in mobile website traffic since 2010. With 60% of all searches done on mobile devices, it’s hard to overlook the opportunity of developing a mobile-friendly site for your business.  M-commerce is not “the next big thing.” It’s already an established trend in online retailing that’s set to change how consumers approach online shopping.

Find more statistics at Statista

So there you have it, mobile websites are essential to e-commerce business growth and growing increasingly popular to non e-commerce sites as well. While developing a mobile site does cost money and time, any investment you make now will pay off multi-fold in years to come.

Does your business have a mobile site? What are your thoughts on this data?