When it comes to selling products on a local basis, mobile rules the day. Whenever I travel anywhere, the first thing I do is fire up the Yelp or Google Maps apps to find someplace to eat. Next I check out the websites of those places. If I like what I see, I've found my next meal; if not, I'm moving on to their competitors.
And I'm not the only one…
According to the latest research from The Nielsen Company, 45% of consumers use their mobile device first when searching for local products and services. Ultimately, 53% of mobile users are making their purchases offline or in-store, and a whopping 74% of smartphone users complete their transactions offline.
What does this mean for you?
That means that your customers are searching for your products and services on their smartphones and tablets, and if they like what they see, they're buying. If not, they're heading to your competition.
Mobile Is Not A Choice
Providing a superior mobile experience, be it in the form of a mobile-optimized site, or a mobile application, is no longer a choice, it's a necessity. And with mobile Internet use set to surpass desktop Internet use in 2014, this is a trend that is rolling over companies.
And when I say "mobile-optimized site", I'm not talking about merely taking your entire website and making it mobile. What you need to take into account is how your customers use the mobile Internet, what devices they're using, what they expect when using those devices, and what information they need to move to a decision. This is where user experience design comes in.
To hammer this point home, we've taken the crucial findings of the research and turned into an infographic for you:
What Do You Think?
Is your experience the same as in the findings? When you're searching locally for products or services, does your mobile experience determine whether or not you visit a store?
Let's talk about it in the comments below.
