While these figures are just a small slice of the e-commerce pie, a mere 11%, numbers for mobile sales are expected to grow to 15% in 2013. An even more exciting bit of information? eMarketer predicts this pie slice to grow to $87 billion by 2016, a slice that’s 25% of e-commerce sales. As exciting as this may be, consumers may be surprised at the relatively slow growth in mobile e-commerce sales.

• Small screens make it difficult to view items
• Search terms are more difficult to type on mobile devices when compared to larger computer keyboards

Smartphones and tables are making progress addressing consumer concerns. Sizes of phones are growing to comfortably accommodate typical hand sizes and screens are getting bigger. Just look at the iPhone 5.

Larger players in the e-commerce game, such as Amazon.com and eBay have invested significantly in their mobile commerce sites. eMarketer noted that mobile shoppers have responded by spending more money per order- an average of $329/ order on tablets and $250/ order on phones. In 2012, sales on tablets surpassed those on smartphones: $13.9 billion as opposed to $9.9 billion.

Morgan Stanley Research estimates sales of smartphones will exceed those of PCs in 2012. As the US grows more mobile, it’s time to reassess how your small business uses this mobile market to increase sales. This article provides three usable techniques for utilizing mobile phones to generate sales leads.

In numbers…
420: the estimated number of smart phones sold in 2011
43: the percentage of US mobile phone owners with a smartphone as of October 2011

To gain more email subscribers for your company newsletter, you can use text message signup to get customers when they’re most excited. All you’ll need is a text-message auto responder and a mobile- friendly sign up web page. Choose from many affordable services to handle the text message set up for you by googling “text messaging marketing” or “SMS campaigns”. Select a word (such as SELL, FREE, or the name of your product) for potential subscribers to text to your chosen five digit number. Upon texting to your number, customers will receive a message containing a web link to a prepared mobile- friendly signup page.
This action will be quite easy to take; just remember to keep the form simple.

There are many advantages of SMS over email campaigns. For one, text messages are generally read within 4 minutes of receipt, compared to 6 hours for email. Also, 95% of texts are opened, compared to 20% of emails. Finally, signup rates with SMS are better because of the required opt- in confirmation. Customers are asked for permission at the moment they are ready to buy-in.
Though you are limited to 160 characters, you will reach more customers in less time. Remember to be considerate of these customers, though, with the number of texts you send. You don’t want them to consider your text as spam and resent you or your product.

A QR code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. They are especially helpful in target marketing for mobile phone users. The code is pictured on a sign or product packaging, and prospective customers point their phone camera at the QR code image. He or she can then choose whether to view the QR link in the phone’s browser, where it will direct them to your homepage. The QR code enables customers to load your web page or signup form easily and quickly.
As QR code awareness grows, phones will become more compatible with QR code readers.

Of course, the above techniques won’t be helpful to you unless your website is mobile ready. If you’re not familiar with HTML or CSS, get started by using a mobile website builder service like Mofuse, Wapple or Atmio.

It is suggested that you implement one of the above techniques at a time, measure it’s effectiveness, and proceed from there. This tactic will allow you to measure your success and know which technique is most productive for your business.

Where does this data come from? Well, the IPB price basket. IPB, or ICT Price Basket is a composite measure of affordability based on three sub-baskets: fixed telephone, mobile cellular, and fixed broadband Internet services. The IPB composite measure is a percentage of average Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. The IPB is also a benchmark measure, used to monitor the relative price of ICT services while indicating service affordability across countries and over time. The IPB is the sole measure to monitor these services worldwide, covering 165 economies.

The big picture. So, what does the data tell us this year? This year’s data indicates ICTs are most affordable in the richest countries. Pricing of services has perpetuated a ‘digital divide’ between the haves and the have-nots. High-income countries are paying little for ICT services, and the world’s poorest countries are paying more (see chart.)

ICT Price Basket by level of development, 2008 and 2010

Source: ITU

Why are fixed broadband prices declining? The overall fall in prices for fixed broadband services is mainly due to price reductions in developing countries. In these areas, the fixed broadband sub-basket dropped by 52%, compared to 35% in developed countries. Don’t be fooled though. These steep price drops often reflect the extremely high cost of broadband in developing countries. Even at half the price, the service is still out of reach for average citizens. Many of the countries where the cost of broadband Internet access is extremely high are UN-designated Least Developed Countries, but the group also includes Tajikistan, Swaziland, Uzbekistan, and Papua New Guinea. Not surprisingly, both broadband access and Internet user levels in these countries remain extremely low.

Where are the greatest price declines? Besides Bangladesh, the top countries showing the greatest decrease in ICT price basket value are in Africa. Fixed broadband prices fell over 55%, and mobile cellular prices fell by 25%. The following top ten countries experienced price decreases by over 50%: Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Guyana, Uganda and Austria. While declining prices for fixed broadband services is the main reason, some countries can also attribute the decline to a decrease in mobile tariffs.

Source: ITU

A challenge for growth. Even with many African countries in the top ten for price declines, this continent continues to stand out for its high prices. The average consumer continues to be alienated from access due to cost; only one out of ten people in Africa is using the Internet. Here’s the challenge: getting broadband or something like it into developing countries. With ICTs being the primary driver for development, both social and economic, countries without access risk falling behind, according to ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré.

You have an internet- enabled mobile phone. In fact, it is estimated that there will be 1.82 billion smart phones, or internet-enabled mobile devices, by 2013.

Garnering sales and increasing your bottom line are concerns of all entrepreneurs, no matter your business niche. If you are keeping up with the times, is your company doing the same? As the trend toward accessibility and all-things- mobile continues, more and more businesses are finding it necessary to update their websites to be mobile-friendly. What does this mean? You mean if I have a website, it’s not already mobile friendly? Yes, friend. That’s what I mean.

Traditional websites are designed for viewing on a computer screen: much larger than that device in your pocket. If you try to view a website on your mobile phone that has not been optimized for mobile use, you are bound to experience frustrations. You will either have to wait an exorbitant amount of time for downloading (if it will download at all), or you will find yourself having to scroll in all directions to get the information you seek.

The needs and behavior of a mobile surfer differs greatly from an Internet surfer. Think of it this way: What do you do when you try to access a website that takes too long or gives you this unpleasant readability? You exit. Abort. Close. Just as your potential clients will do if your business site isn’t “mobilized.” In order for you to reach your customers, you simply cannot afford to neglect this marketing strategy.

In this article, we’ll look at four reasons why your business must have a mobile website: 1) Affordability, 2) Portability and Convenience, 3) Mobile Search, and 4) Localization.

Any business, no matter the type, is concerned about the bottom line. Less out, more in= profits. This is especially true in advertising. Having a website that is mobile-friendly can exponentially increase the number of potential customers who are exposed to your business without spending a bunch of extra money on publicity.

While computers are getting smaller, and most laptops are the size of a spiral notebook, they still cannot beat the portability of a mobile phone. I love my laptop, but I cannot put is in my pocket or messenger bag with the ease that I can my phone. Mobile phones are just that: mobile. Designed to be taken anywhere (some even underwater!), mobile phones are being used more and more for surfing the web. Even at home, it’s easier to check on something by reaching in your pocket than it is to look it up on the computer that is inevitably in the other room. Businesses that have mobile-friendly sites are noticed easily and can maintain a presence over their counter-parts with ordinary sites.

Search engines, such as Google or Yahoo!, come standard on most smart phones. If your business has a site, you’ve most likely done the work to make it “searchable.” But, what good is your site if potential customers find it but cannot view it? Or, if in the viewing, they become annoyed with accessing the information? Your business then gives the impression that your site isn’t top-notch; could the same be thought of your product or service? Brand perception and brand-liking is everything.

Mobile websites are limited in terms of space, therefore you must be selective about the information you choose to include. Most people, when searching a business on the web, want basic information. Where are you located? How can I contact you? What products or services do you provide? Single out the three main reasons to visit your site, and have them visible without any scrolling necessary. Keeping the site simple helps provide your local site visitors with the information they need to connect with you. It is important to make sure you are selective in the choice of information for your mobile site.

This is largely due to the recent increase in online gaming which is expected to grow annually at an increase of 27 percent. Hardware sales are expected to remain constant while software sales are expected to decline.

Online gaming is the largest factor in this dramatic increase, and subscription rates for these online games is expected to drop slightly, while the prices of virtual goods will rise greatly. However, mobile phones are also contributing to the rise in video game industry because gaming is a key component in many of these devices.

Source: NYTimes