Mobile experience still not comparable to PC, laptop

Companies that don’t keep the mobile experience in line with consumer expectations risk brand damage, increased costs and a drop in sales. That’s the message gleaned from two recent items of research out of the UK.

In a recent survey of 1,000 UK consumers conducted by Toluna for in-content digital advertising company Vibrant Media, 72% of mobile users said they expect the same quality of experience across all their digital devices – including desktops. Yet, their preferred digital device via which to consume digital content remains the PC cited by 86% versus 8% who said tablet and 6% smartphone.

When it comes to experiences with UK digital media titles, few consumers are getting the experience they expect. Over two-thirds (68%) said that a media title’s site had not displayed effectively on their mobile device. The worst offenders are ‘Women’s Weekly Media Titles’ (78% of sites did not render effectively) and ‘General Monthly Titles’ (73%).

“A separate, fully optimized mobile site is not an absolute necessity to give consumers an effective mobile experience,” says Tom Pepper, Managing Director UK of Vibrant Media. “Publishers just need to ensure that the editorial of their web sites renders effectively on handheld devices and start replacing desktop-only ad formats with much nimbler ads which work across desktops, laptops, tablets and the small screen format of smartphones.”

Another UK-based survey of 1,000 UK adults by Eptica found that 52% said over half of the websites they visit on a mobile device were not optimized. In fact, Eptica’s 2013 Mobile Customer Experience Study found that even the most basic of issues continue to plague consumers’ mobile web experience.

The leading issue among Eptica’s respondents was the lack of functionality both on the mobile web and within apps (36%) while 34% cited slow loading speeds and 34% were frustrated by websites that were not optimized for a small screen.

“Mobile is an essential part of the customer journey for many consumers, whether researching, buying or simply locating your nearest store. Fail to understand this and you’ll lose business now and in the future,” says Eptica.