Mobile Can Pay Rich Dividends

With so many industry experts predicting 2012 as the year for mobile, here are some of the figures making the headlines in the business press:

• Morgan Stanley forecasts mobile internet access will overtake desktop PC access by 2014
• British consumers are projected to spend £19.3 Billion on their mobiles in 2021.  The current figure is £1.3 Billion  (Source: Barclays Corporate).
• According to new research from the Internet Advertising Bureau 51{6dae46da24e999607385e9be7950c1d4589f4b4e796c45b1daf9b427a72e91a2} of mobile owners (23 million people) have used their device to make payments, redeem coupons or research products and services.

In light of the positive market conditions, the commercial benefits to a business for offering a well-designed mobile app are clear.  Brands who have stolen a march on their competitors have enjoyed some amazing returns:

• Dominos Pizza generated an additional £10m in just eight months from their mobile app
• New Look saw an increase of 60{6dae46da24e999607385e9be7950c1d4589f4b4e796c45b1daf9b427a72e91a2} in online orders after launching their mobile app

So are businesses ready for the mobile wave?

According to Google’s Head of Mobile the answer is an emphatic “No”.  At a recent industry conference he is quoted as saying: “79{6dae46da24e999607385e9be7950c1d4589f4b4e796c45b1daf9b427a72e91a2} of companies do not have mobile-optimised sites”.  He further warned they were already missing out on “such a big opportunity” in terms of mobile commerce.