Firms advised to think mobile

01/10/2008

E-commerce businesses could be missing out on customers by ignoring the opportunities offered by the growing popularity of mobile internet, it has been claimed.

A study conducted by software house Omniture found that more than half of companies are not aware how many unique visitors access their website via mobile devices.

Neil Weston, Omniture's senior vice president, said that those businesses would have to change their approach, as research had found that mobile browsing is almost certain to become a huge market in the next five years.

All e-commerce businesses should begin to gather customer intelligence on mobile browsers and use the information to guide their website design plans and mobile marketing campaigns, he recommended.

"These activities will help to keep visitors on the site longer, which can help to increase conversion rates," added Mr Weston.

The increased availability of smartphones has made mobile internet browsing accessible to more people and a recent report by Strategy Analytics suggested around 90 million such devices would be sold worldwide next year.