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80% of UK companies neglecting mobile

Only 20% of UK companies have a mobile-optimised website in place, despite 73% of consumers now accessing the web on mobile devices, according to new research by EPiServer.

The study, Developing a mobile strategy: how to deliver mobile sites that truly engage, also found that while two thirds of UK consumers used a mobile app within the last year, only 18% of companies have a dedicated mobile app.

Encouragingly, 76% of UK marketers say they currently have a mobile strategy in place and 26% expect to launch a mobile-optimised site in the next year.

Consumers’ biggest frustrations with mobile websites include problems with navigation (32%), speed (49%), functionality (35%) and finding content (19%).

Thirty-five percent of consumers said that if a mobile site is hard to use, they’ll drop off. In particular, 15% would stop using a site if it is difficult to navigate and 14% indicated that they rarely feel that a mobile website meets their expectations.

A quarter of consumers would look to a competitor’s site if the mobile site they were trying to access wasn’t working and 64% said they would give a website three chances before moving on.

For marketers, the biggest barriers when it comes to developing a coherent mobile strategy include lack of technology (24%), budget (23%) and the ability to prove return-on-investment (7%).

“Our research clearly highlights the increasing importance of an effective mobile strategy in order to attract new customers and to effectively serve existing ones,” says EPiServer vice-president of marketing Europe and sales operations Maria Wasing. “The number of consumers carrying an internet-enabled device with them at all times is rocketing and, by thinking about the best approach for your brand now, businesses can make the most of the growing mobile opportunity.”

The study took in the opinions of 200 UK senior marketing executives and more than 1,000 UK consumers.

Jenni Baker, London