This is the golden age of mobile where almost every human being has access to some form of a cellular device. In 2014, there will be an estimated 4.33 billion mobile users on the planet, of which 1.75 billion will use smartphones. Local businesses are no exception to this trend and the majority now expects them to be on mobile. This is of particular importance when considering the amount of mobile searches being performed, outnumbering those on home computers. Business owners need to make sure that their website or application is available in the area where consumers are looking for their products and services. According to Forbes.com today’s consumers are increasingly using social media and business sites, while wandering the streets to look for things to do or buy.
This is an infographic from Market Domination Media, which highlights the possibilities of going mobile for business
- 88% of consumers, who search for a type of local business on a mobile device, call or go to that business within 24 hours.
- At least eight out of ten smartphone users, use their device while shopping in store, while 50% use GPS/Mapping apps to find retail locations.
- At least 79% of smartphone users, have used their device for shopping related activities.
- There were 163.2 million smartphone users in the U.S in February 2014 and by 2015, U.S mobile sales are forecasted to reach US$31 billion.
- Only 55% of businesses have a mobile optimized website and 61% of users are likely to leave a website that is not mobile friendly.
- Most importantly, 48% of mobile users, who visited a site that was not mobile friendly, had assumed that the company didn’t care about their business!
- 44% of local businesses used an iPhone App for mobile optimization, while 33% used an Android App.
- In 2013, mobile devices accounted for 72% of company traffic, a 20% increase from 2012.
The number of smartphone users will outnumber those on desktop in 2014. Currently, 25% of the global population accesses the internet through smartphones. With so many smartphone users, local businesses must optimize social media marketing and mobile website management if they are keen on increasing their web presence and improving sales and revenue. Already 72% of small business owners prefer the social media platform, for customer engagement and business purposes.
