Upwardly mobile

Thursday, 6 May 2010

You don’t need official reports to know that consumers are becoming more comfortable using their mobile phones to browse the web, but they do help to cement anecdotal evidence. In its latest study, Mobile Payments for Digital & Physical Goods: Players, Markets & Opportunities, 2010-2014, Juniper Research forecasts that nearly half of all mobile-phone users worldwide will pay by mobile for goods or services by 2014.

Forrester Research says that 2010 will see more European retailers “track and test emerging technologies like mobile devices and social media” while focusing on keeping costs down.

What’s more, 16 million UK individuals are already using mobile internet, having accessed it at least once in December 2009, according to Alex Meisl, chairman at mobile marketing agency Sponge. He says that “at least 5 percent of all traffic could be coming from a mobile phone,” but if your website isn’t optimised for mobile browsing, the resulting bad user experience could deter a consumer from returning to your site in future.

This may explain why several retailers have already forged ahead with mobile marketing strategies. Forward-thinking retailers are creating mobile websites, and to some extent apps—applications designed to be used on smartphones such as the iPhone, Blackberry, or Google Android devices—to enhance the on-the-go experience for their customers.

To find out what this means to you visit: http://www.catalog-biz.com/news/Upwardly-mobile_2193.asp.