According to the Barclays Online Business Outlook 2013 a mere 6% of CFO/Finance Directors polled see mobile as their organization’s greatest opportunity for growth in 2013. By contrast 82% see existing websites as their main focus.
Furthermore, while the U.K. has lagged in the deployment of next-generation mobile technology, a quarter of respondents have not heard of 4G, while over a third have heard of it, but know nothing about it.
It is not that U.K. online businesses are unaware of the potential, the report found. But while 64% of online businesses in the U.K. believe a mobile strategy is an important factor in their business success, 89% of online businesses have not yet developed their website for mobile devices despite the fact that online businesses that have developed mobile sites or apps generated 27.8% of their revenue from mobile in 2012, an average of £2,474,000 per annum.
Only one in 10 (11%) online businesses polled already have a mobile app or mobile-ready website.
Sean Duffy, Managing Director and Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms at Barclays said the report found that online businesses significantly outperformed the rest of the U.K. industry; those polled in the survey averaged compound annual growth of 11.4% over three years.
But Mr. Duffy was concerned that growth was at risk by companies not keeping up with shifts in consumer behavior, an in particular the shift to mobile commerce. According to the 2013 Connected Consumer Survey by Analysys Mason 52.3% of U.K. smartphone users made at least one transaction from their handset in 2012, with 18.3% doing so more than once a month.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
