With over 83% of the U.S. population or roughly 250 million people connected via mobile devices, mobile Web services are being touted as the next big thing of the near future. Indeed, over 10 % of U.S. citizens and 5% of Canadian citizens do not even have landline telephones.
Recently the organization Rareplay conducted its Mobile Web Presence Survey 2008 which found that 14 % (141) of the "Top 1000 U.S. Brands" have mobile Web sites. To calculate the percentage, Rareplay randomly selected 1000 brands from Brandweek's 2007 list of Superbrands. This statistic represents a 75 % increase over similar research conducted last year which found only 8 percent of the brands had a mobile presence.
The Rareplay survey revealed that industries with the highest mobile web adoption include: travel (36%), entertainment (28%) and ISP & Telecommunications (28%), a significant increase from last year’s findings. On the other end of the spectrum, medicine & pharmaceuticals and consumer packaged goods have mobile web site adoption rates of only 4% - 5%. However, these still represent an increase from last year’s findings of 1% or less.
Of late, several consumer brand marketers (McDonalds, Starbucks and P&G) are testing ways to reach out to consumers by offering discounts/promotions at local fast-food chains and retail stores. Others like PepsiCo, Capital One and Amazon are employing the use of widgets.
With improved usability and navigation of smartphones, higher bandwidth capacities, a move towards open standards as well as innovative ways of delivering mobile content, we can expect to see more brands creating engaging content that’s highly localized and targeted at mobile-savvy consumers.