7 Reasons You Need a Mobile Website

[AllanJames]

Not having a mobile website is like losing half the prospect visitors.

That's far to broad a statement to be useful for the readers here @Tempo, and, as an example, this is why...

Let's say your market was providing products and solutions for seniors (one of the markets I, and many others ,contribute and provide services and solutions for) -- mobile access is completely irrelevant to them, and will be for several more years.

They don't own, and have little interest in using, a mobile or smartphone.

BTW, seniors are a HUGE market!

[minstrel]

Let's say your market was providing products and solutions for seniors (one of the markets I, and many others ,contribute and provide services and solutions for) -- mobile access is completely irrelevant to them, and will be for several more years.

They don't own, and have little interest in using, a mobile or smartphone.

BTW, seniors are a HUGE market!

You are seriously underestimating seniors if you believe that to be true. Just because they're retired doesn't mean they are oblivious to or ignorant of technology.

Maybe it's different in New Zealand...

[AllanJames]

You are seriously underestimating seniors if you believe that to be true. Just because they're retired doesn't mean they are oblivious to or ignorant of technology.

Maybe it's different in New Zealand...

No, it's not dramatically different in New Zealand and I said nothing about seniors being ignorant or oblivious of anything.

The question under discussion was relating to internet shopping etc by smartphones. The thread starter said 'Recent surveys says 79% of respondents used their smartphones for shopping, or finding nearest shop. '

I believe in understanding my markets demographics rather than relying on my own perceptions. In this case several surveys show that, today, only a low percentage of seniors use a smartphone to access the internet. Here's just a few of the surveys that illustrate the point:

• Smartphone Demographics, Smartphone Penetration Highest Among Users Aged 25-34 in the US and Europe | Velositor
• What are the age demographics of smartphone users? - Quora
• The App Agency – Mobile Consultancy, AlwaysOnMessage | US Smartphone Adoption & Usage

[minstrel]

From a study about a year ago:

Focus on Smartphone Owners | Pew Internet & American Life Project

Smartphone owners of all age groups are intense users of their mobile phones
Compared with those under the age of 50, older adults have relatively low rates of smartphone adoption: one in five Americans age 50 and older own a smartphone of some kind, compared with roughly half of those under the age of 50. But older adults who have purchased a more advanced phone use those devices for a relatively wide range of purposes. Among smartphone owners ages 50 and up, eight in ten use their phones for texting and picture taking, around two-thirds use them to access the internet, send photos or videos to others or use email, and half have downloaded apps. In effect, smartphone owners over the age of 50 have the same usage patterns as the overall cell owner population of 30-49 year olds.

[minstrel]

How Baby Boomers Are Embracing Digital Media
by Jamie Carracher
Wed, 06 Apr 2011

This year, some of the nearly 80 million Baby Boomers in the United States have turned 65 and are now “officially” senior citizens. Need context? Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist and one of the fathers of the Internet, turns 68 in June. The web, often viewed as a realm for just the young, is getting older.


The Boomer generation isn’t just big — it’s made up of people who think and act differently than previous generations. As Boomers confront “old age,” they will certainly defy what we think it means to “get old.” It will challenge us to rethink how we use the web and how we engage older people with newer technologies.

It’s no secret that senior citizens have typically been slow to use new technologies, including social media. But recent trends show older people are among the fastest-growing demographics online. Social network use among Internet users 50 years old and older has nearly doubled to 42% over the past year. In fact, in the U.S. alone there are nearly 16 million people 55 and older using Facebook.

Smartphones are finally breaking into the older adult market. Numbers vary, but as many as 15% of people aged 55 and older are using smartphones, according to data from Nielsen.

“If it’s good technology, seniors embrace it the same as everyone else,” he said. “The key here is if it is truly ‘good’ and they see a real use for it, whether for entertainment or business or lifestyle. They are smart shoppers who aren’t so much interested in [the] useless ‘bells and whistles’ many products contain.”

[minstrel]

In this case several surveys show that, today, only a low percentage of seniors use a smartphone to access the internet. Here's just a few of the surveys that illustrate the point:

• Smartphone Demographics, Smartphone Penetration Highest Among Users Aged 25-34 in the US and Europe | Velositor
• What are the age demographics of smartphone users? - Quora
• The App Agency – Mobile Consultancy, AlwaysOnMessage | US Smartphone Adoption & Usage

Even using your own citations:

Smartphone Demographics, Smartphone Penetration Highest Among Users Aged 25-34 in the US and Europe | Velositor

In the US:

Based on age demographics, smartphone reach in the US, in Q4 2011, was highest among users aged 25 to 34 at 25.6%, followed by the 35 to 44 age group at 20.7%, the 18 to 24 age group at 17.2%, the 45 to 55 age group at 15.6%, the 55+ age group at 14.6% and the 13 to 17 age group at 6.9%.

In Europe:

Based on age demographics, the EU5 average smartphone reach, in Q4 2011, was highest among users aged 25 to 34 at 22%, followed by the 35 to 44 age group at 21.1%, the 55+ age group at 18.9%, the 45 to 55 age group at 16%, the 18 to 24 age group at 14.4% and the 13 to 17 age group at 7.6%.

The App Agency – Mobile Consultancy, AlwaysOnMessage | US Smartphone Adoption & Usage

Amongst American adults, the highest smartphone ownership rate is for those in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties with 58 percent of those in this age category owning a smartphone.


Those aged 18 – 24 come second with 49 percent owning smartphones, followed by the 35 – 44 age range with 44 percent. Levels drop amongst older users to 28, 22 and 11 percent for those aged 45 – 54, 55 – 64 and 65+ respectively.

1. Those are substantial numbers of older people with smartphones.
2. In many cases, older people have more disposable income.
3. Those older people who have smartphones use them pretty much the same way as younger people.
4. The numbers of older people using smartphones continues to increase with every survey, with more recent surveys showing greater penetration into older age groups than earlier ones.

My conclusion: That's a lot of people with money to spend, especially on things like travel and health, and anyone selling products or services of any kind would be foolish to assume they don't need a mobile version of their websites for those age groups.

[Sabrina Gage]

Nice article. With more and more people use mobile phones to check websites, mobile websites are definitely worth constructing.

[artistictouchbhm]

Excellent Article! I agree that if you do not have a mobile site or mobile friendly site then you will likely be losing out on some of your potential clients.

[JamesQ]

It is essential to have a mobile site because on line user experience is arguably the most important facet in determining whether a site will be a success.

[Michael Adams]

Yeah, mobile surfing nowadays is probably the biggest thing when it comes to purchasing products. The smartphone age and internet age are coming together and it's getting bigger and bigger by the day. People have everything on their phones these days and having a mobile site will help you explore that area of business marketing.