This week I had a phenomenal opportunity to sit down with a new customer. Since 2005 they have been running an ever growing online web business and store front. They’ve come to a point in the evolution of the company that they want to take advantage of new web technologies and develop a mobile app to better facilitate and enhance their customers experience. A few interesting notes that came out of our meeting regarding their current web traffic.
- 32 % is initiated from a smartphone
- 22% from an iPad or Tablet
- 46% from a desktop
Essentially 54 percent of their business is driven to them via a mobile device. Yes – they are exploring how can they leverage this shift in mobile traffic. The anecdotal conversation was very revealing. As we discussed these mobile trends they are seeing in their customers one of the partners commented, “I am the face of the customer. I do 80% of my shopping on my iPhone. It’s always in my hands and enables me to search for products anytime. If I come across a site that is not mobile friendly I typically leave and look for one that is. If it’s something I really need or I need to do deeper research I’ll email myself the URL so that I can look at it on my laptop later. But I otherwise prefer to do everything on my mobile” 
One might argue the mobile shift has happened. I would argue it’s happening. A lot of companies are still working to make the transition. Are you shifting your strategies to take advantage of mobile in your business?
When discussing this with my partner Rod Puzey he pointed out that “You’re leaving business on the table if you only support one option. Not everything is ideal for the mobile but it comes down to providing the right form factor for the right situation.”
I’m reminded of an experience I had with my wife camping on the beach of Puerto Penasco. On our first morning the tide was very low and we decided to take a walk on the rocky shore. Exploring the nooks and crannies for stranded fish and crabs we barely noticed the incoming tide. When I realized tide was coming in it was almost too late. I grabbed my wife and we turned to shore. The tide quickly rose to our knees with 75 yards to go when I took another step and was over my head in water. We were stranded, forced to swim very turbulent water. Obviously we survived but only after considerable effort to get on shore.
Where are you and/or your company in managing the tidal shift to mobile? Are you taking a similar path to my walk in Puerto Penasco – where you think all is well, noting that the tide is changing, but on the verge of being swept under by the incoming tide wondering what happened?