Despite rapid growth among mobile internet users and demand for mobile commerce (m-commerce) sites, the majority of retailers around the world don’t have an m-commerce strategy in place, new research from SLI Systems shows.
 
More than 400 online retailers from Australia, the US, Europe, Asia and New Zealand took part in SLI Systems’ recent survey, with results indicating that a staggering 80 per cent of e-commerce companies are yet to adopt a strategy to support the needs of mobile shoppers.  
 
“What’s most interesting about the findings is that 56 per cent of the businesses we surveyed believe that a mobile commerce strategy is very important or important to their overall business success, and yet more than 80 per cent are yet to implement a mobile marketing strategy to support this belief,” said Shaun Ryan, CEO of SLI Systems.
 
However, while many online retailers may be slow to adopt m-commerce, most recognise the opportunity and plan to address it in the near future.
 
Currently, 83 per cent of e-commerce organisations say between one to 10 per cent of visitors access their sites from mobile browsers, while 12 per cent cite that 11 to 20 per cent get to their sites through the mobile web. These numbers are expected to grow substantially, with 85 per cent of new mobile handsets equipped to browse the internet, according to Gartner research.
 
“Recent results from a Nielsen survey showed that 73 per cent of local mobile users conduct internet searches on-the-go, which has increased from 30 per cent in just 12 months. This upswing in mobile internet use represents a significant opportunity for companies that have already optimised their sites for the mobile market, but our research shows that most retailers are still in a wait-and-see mode.
 
“E-commerce businesses need to take this new shopping trend very seriously. By preparing to capture the new business opportunities presented by the mobile web now, retailers will enjoy huge benefit to their bottom line in the near future and beyond,” concluded Ryan.
 
The 2010 Mobile Commerce Survey was conducted online by Zoomerang on behalf of SLI Systems. The poll, which gathered feedback from 419 e-commerce business managers and executives globally, was conducted from May 24 to June 1 2010.