The Internet In Business

“35% of US Web-enabled mobile phone owners said they had participated in some form of mobile shopping in the past year….” – PriceGrabber.com Survey

I read this and other  revealing statistics in a recent article Mobile Shopping Doubles on eMarketer.com.  While you cannot take such statistics to literally, especially in the European context, it did prompt me to think how well are businesses prepared for this new channel to market and the demands of a new kind of shopper.

You only have to try browsing any of the sites you’d typically visit from your desktop to see what a poor experience it is for visitors.  Websites designed for desk/laptop visitors are simply not suitable for smart phone visitors.

Just like the move online for a business required a change in thinking so does the move to using smart phone as a sales tool requires a different approach.

Try visiting your own site today using a iPhone or similar smartphone.  Then honestly ask yourself:

• What was the experience like
• Did you get past the first page
• Could you easily do a transaction, make an enquiry, etc

Don’t despair if you think the experience was poor but don’t ignore the results either. The smart phone shopper is here to stay, now is the time to embrace them, before they go somewhere else