Don’t Forget About Mobile

With everything that goes into running a small business, a website might be the last concern of an owner.

However, a website is an extremely useful tool, that all merchants should make for their businesses.

Is a site alone enough though?

Technology is constantly evolving, and as it grows, it seems like more and more people are on the go and using their mobile devices as a way to connect to the internet.

This is potentially huge for a merchant that sells things online, because if you don’t have a website which is optimized for mobile device purchases, you could be missing out on big revenue.

According to an article from ISOandAgent.com, a survey conducted among 1,650 small business merchants discovered that as many as two-thirds of them had websites which weren’t optimized for mobile acceptance. 49% didn’t have an upgraded site, and 17% had no idea what the current status of their site was.

82% of e-commerce small merchants didn’t know if their purchases came from a PC or mobile site. Data from those who monitored where their purchases came from however, show a steady increase in mobile e-commerce.

Other mobile tools, like mobile wallets, still haven’t taken off. 93% of the merchants surveyed didn’t accept mobile wallets as a payment. Mobile wallets seem to be a wait and see issue, as merchants are seeing if the technology takes off.

Lastly, mobile swipers have risen from 10% last year, to 17% this year. But even though they seem to be on the rise, merchants have said that they don’t use it to replace their current POS system.

The only merchants who do solely rely on mobile swipers have less than 10 employees and generally make less than $50,000 in annual sales. Mobile swipers if anything, and a compliment to POS systems, and help give merchants even more tools.

Small Business merchants should pay close attention to the mobile scene. If you currently own a e-commerce business, make sure your mobile site can accept credit cards.

Mobile wallets seem to be something to wait on, but mobile swipers are on the rise and might be worth investing in.

Overall, mobile processing is moving forward, so make sure you don’t get left behind.