Only 8pc of top spending retailers have tablet optimised sites

June 18th, 2013, 23:43 Posted By: wraggster

74 per cent do, however, have a mobile optimised site.
While the adoption of smartphones as a key marketing component amongst UK retailers continues to gather pace, tablets are still struggling to make their presence felt, after new research from IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) revealed that only eight per cent of the nation’s top spending retailers have tablet optimised sites.
The lowly figure pales even further when compared to the 74 per cent of top spending retailers to have launched sites optimised for smartphones.
Carried out between May and June, the The Mobile Retail Audit looked at a number of different mobile measures, including, optimised sites, apps, optimised search campaigns, and in store Wi-Fi across the 50 retailers spending the most on advertising in the UK.
The findings suggest that although mobile is now firmly rooted within many retail brands’ marketing strategies, there are still certain elements that are missing. Research carried out by the IAB last year highlighted the importance of retailers having a mobile and tablet strategy, with almost three quarters of tablet users making a purchase on them every week. Furthermore, the research also found that tablet owners now spend an average of 4.4 hours per week browsing retail sites on their tablet.
Of the brands that had a mobile optimised site, 81 per cent had a transactional functionality to them. However when looking at brands that have an app (62 per cent), just 48 per cent of those apps were transactional, allowing the customer to browse and search for products but not make a purchase.
Meanwhile, the research also showed that less than half (48 per cent) of the top 50 UK retailers optimised their search campaigns for mobile.
Elsewhere, only ten per cent of the top 50 UK retailers offer a ‘single user’ approach, meaning that a user’s account worked across both desktop and mobile app. This means that 90 per cent of the retailers reviewed are preventing consumers from having a seamless digital experience.
There are, however, sectors within retail that are over-performing when compared to the average. When looking at fashion specific retailers within the study, a full eight out of eight had mobile optimised sites, while seven out of eight had mobile specific search strategies.
IAB’s head of mobile, Alex Kozloff, commented: “This research shows that although the fashion specific retailers have grasped the essentials of mobile marketing there is still a large percentage of the top spending retailers that haven’t. With so many consumers now deciding to shop online brands can’t afford to not get this right. The IAB will be reaching out to retail brands specifically over the coming months to help educate them further about how to make the most of mobile.”

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