Consumers have recently made two decisions. First, they are more willing to use their mobile device over their desktop or laptop. Second, they are more likely to spend time in mobile apps instead of the mobile web, if they are given a chance. Consumers’ preferences are changing how businesses think about their company’s strategy.
Apps are practically becoming a requirement for businesses in categories like news, productivity, retail, travel, and more. Starbucks is a great example of a company that has made a useful app for their consumers. At the end of Q3 in 2014, the company had 6 million mobile app transactions weekly. One year later (Q3 of 2015) 9 million mobile transactions are being processed every week.
Mobile optimized websites are also powerful, but the effect can be clearly seen for local business searches. In 2013, 38% of people surveyed said they were more likely to contact a local business if they had a mobile optimized site. Just two years later, 61% of people, asked the same question, said mobile optimized sites made a difference. Mobile ready sites are a necessity as the number of searches including “near me” increases at a steady rate.