We live in a time of rapidly changing technology and behavior. Maybe you haven’t noticed it yet. But, odds are, your company’s website mobile traffic has been rapidly growing. And this is not just a trend in your industry, we are seeing this in all verticals.
Because of faster networks and better smart phone technology, mobile users have increased data usage 15 times over what it was in 2007. Average mobile data usage in 2013 was 750MB and is estimated to grow to over 895MB before the end of 2014. By the end of 2015 the estimated average will be 1077MB.
Wireless telecoms are certainly enjoying this growth in mobile traffic. Wireless data revenue hit over $21 billion in 2013 – a 19% increase over the previous year. Mobile data use increased 50% over the same period. And in 2014, it is expected data sales will surpass voice and text revenue.
Retail mobile website traffic for Black Friday 2013 accounted for a whopping 39.7% of sales––a 34% increase over 2012. However, according to an IBM commissioned study, less than 47 percent of global marketers had mobile versions of their websites. But this is changing.
Our clients are seeing this trend in mobile traffic, as well. Our metrics have shown a significant lift in mobile searches and site visits related to integrated campaigns we have helped to launch over the last year. One of our clients is a wireless provider in Oklahoma. The lion share of their advertising is television. Currently, 34% of their site traffic is mobile users. We estimate it will be 50% by end of 2014. They will have seen a 100% growth of mobile visitors in 12 months.
Our own website, www.agencycreative.com is currently at 12% mobile visitors. This is up 176% over the previous year.
Consumers now have immediate access to information right in the palms of their hands. Therefore it is imperative we have optimized our sites and mobile marketing to immediately capture these mobile users when we expose them to our traditional, non-digital programs.
So back to my original question, does your website and marketing plan take into account this growth of mobile users? If not, why not? Isn’t it time your business invested in a mobile-friendly, responsively designed website or perhaps even a mobile app? Add this to your 2015 budget. Don’t get left behind.
