20/07/2011
Small businesses are being urged to optimise their websites for mobiles, as smartphone usage soars.
Auditing firm KPMG carried out a survey of 1,000 business leaders to discover their relationship with the mobile market and what measures they have in place for the future.
Of those studied, 72 per cent acknowledged that mobile will play a large role in online sales in the future, whilst a further 58 per cent reported already having a mobile strategy in place. Currently, only nine per cent see mobile purchases as being in the mainstream, although 46 per cent believe it will be in two years. The figure rises to 83 per cent for the uptake within four years.
As a result of the findings, many small business may look to sales finance in order to boost their cash flow and make the jump into the mobile market.
In the financial, technological, telecommunications and retail industries, the majority (81 per cent) believe that convenience and accessibility is the reason for the drive, with ease, security and cost completing the top four.
Speaking to telecomlead.com, global chair of KPMG's Technology, Communication and Entertainment Gary Matuszak explained: "We believe that exploding smartphone growth and myriad opportunities will grow mobile payments at a much faster rate than our respondents anticipate.
"A wide variety of payments are ready for adoption, as several key players already provide or are rolling out mobile payments, and interest among consumers in utilising mobile payments is growing, in line with the industry's readiness to deploy them."
Adding, Matuzak told smallbusiness.co.uk, "We believe that those firms willing to engage in cross-industry partnerships are more likely to succeed and dominate the market due to the complex set of business relationships required to deliver mobile payments to a mass market."
David Howells