5 Mobile Website Trends to Watch in 2011

The world is going mobile - are you prepared? Does your website platform support the mobile customer? The mobile train is moving at an incredible pace, and it's time to get on board before you're left out in the dust.

"We live in a wireless world" says Mangal Singh, VP of Redengine. "More and more people are turning to their iPhones and Blackberries for internet access than their computers.  With this, comes new challenges and opportunities for many organizations. To simply remain competitive, a mobile-friendly website is now a must-have."

So let's have a closer look at the mobile train, and view some mobile website trends to support this wireless movement:

1) People Use Their Mobiles For Search & Information

• By 2013, the US mobile Internet audience is expected to reach over 134M people.
• By 2014, it is estimated that more people will be utilizing their mobile device to access the internet than their desktop computers.
• AT&T's mobile data traffic has increased by nearly 5% over the last three years.

The Lesson: More and more people are getting connected to the internet via their mobiles.  If you're not thinking of being mobile-friendly, your competitors are.  It won't take long before you're left behind in the dust.

 

2) People Use Their Mobiles For Smarter Shopping

A recent study of the mobile activities performed by shoppers this past holiday season revealed some interesting trends:

• Over 51% of respondents used their mobile phones to find a store location.
• Over 47% researched specific products they were looking to purchase, while over 44% browsed product categories.
• Over 40% of mobile users performed comparison shopping on various products.
• Over 35% of mobile users looked for coupons codes and deals online.
• Nearly 34% of mobile users used their mobile units to search for product availability at various store locations.

The Lesson: Your customers are already looking at your website on their mobiles.  Are they getting the information they need? Or are they simply moving on to your competitors? Optimizing your website for the mobile web will help you retain your market share and give you an edge on your competition.

 

3) People Are Buying

• In 2010, 21% of people used their mobile phone or device to purchase a product for Christmas.
• eBay reported over $100M in mobile sales over the Christmas period in 2010. Designer handbags, diamond jewellery and Rolex's topped the most purchased items.
• Coda Research Consultancy forecasts that mobile eCommerce revenues in the US will reach $23.8B in 2015

The Lesson: Customers are becoming more comfortable with purchasing items online and on their mobile devices. Having a website mobile-optimized to turn a visitor into a customer will ensure you're ready for the mobile e-commerce boom in the years to come.

 

4) Mobile Internet Users Expect Speed

• Three out of four people stated that slow load times were the #1 performance issue among mobile websites.
• Bing has found that a slowdown as small as 2 seconds leads to a 4.3% reduction in revenue per user.
• 58% of people expect websites to load on their mobiles at a comparable speed or faster than their PC's.
• A recent Forrester Research study found that today's patience threshold for the web is just two seconds, down from four seconds only three years ago.

The Lesson: This research into expectations of loading times on mobile units lends credence to a minimalist mobile website design.  Adding images and fancy functionality is not what the mobile user is looking for - simplicity is key.  We've outlined some of the Best Practices for Mobile Website Design, in this report.

 

5) Marketers are Investing in Mobile Ad Spending

• US Mobile Ad Spending is expected to exceed $1B this year. By 2014, it's expected to reach over $2.5B.
• Display and search advertising sales are expected to see the largest growth in the next 5 years.
• Opt-in text-message advertising leads the pack in spending in the US.
• Video searches are the #1 most searched item on mobile phones - expect to see an increase in video advertisements.

 

The Lesson: Chances are, if not already, in the near future your company will be utilizing mobile advertising.  The question is - if your sending paid visitors to your website, is your platform mobile friendly? Can your landing page turn that mobile lead into a sale?

 

Sources: mashable.com, emarketer.com, internetretailer.com, gomez.com, mobilemarketer.com, forrester.com