Did you know that in South Africa, cell phones are taking the place of computers, and more than 60% of South Africans now frequently use their cell phones to browse the internet?
We live in a world where we can shop, bank, book air tickets, get directions from A to B and make dinner reservations all with the simple touch of a button from our cell phones! So, with all this in mind, the fact stands; if you don’t have a mobile responsive and user-friendly website, you’re going to lose business.
Here are some important things to consider about the mobile market and why in this day and age, your business needs to have a responsive website.
1. Mobile Users are Unique
A mobile user has a different goal to your average desktop user, so you need to treat them with a little more TLC. They want their information quickly and in bite size pieces, and generally, they’re also a little less patient than your desktop user.
Additionally, research has shown that if your mobile site takes more than three seconds to load, 57% will abandon their search and 30% will cancel their transaction if the shopping cart isn’t optimised for mobile.
2. Mobile Users are Everywhere
Over a billion people worldwide use their mobiles to browse the internet, and in South Africa, the Smartphone has passed the one-third mark, meaning that between 37% and 45% of our country use these devices to browse the internet.
In essence, mobile users are more mobile; it’s that simple. They, therefore, generate more website traffic than desktop users as it’s easy to visit a site while you’re watching TV, commuting and carrying out other daily activities on your handheld device as opposed to your desktop or even laptop computer.
3. Mobile Boosts Brand Engagement…And Sales
If a user had a positive experience on your website, they’re more likely to return to your site on a desktop at a later stage. Since most people “multi-screen” from desktop and mobile to complete a task, when your site is optimised for user experience, it’ll leave a positive and long lasting impression on the user – which means they’re more likely to keep coming back!
In fact, 80% of shoppers said that their mobile purchases were impulse-driven and that they were more likely to buy from and interact with a brand that offered a positive mobile experience.