Mobile web in 2015 - Morgan Stanley's crystal ball

Mobile web as a platform for buying and selling products and services gained even more ground over the recent festive period. 

More and more businesses are getting to grips with the complimentary benefits of web and traditional bricks and mortar and now it's time to bring affordable mobile web to the 90 plus percent of the UK business market - the small to medium sized and self-employed.

Back in 2010, Morgan Stanley, as reported by Jolie O'Dell gave their predictions. In a dense, 87-page report, Morgan Stanley analysts charted the most important online trends and predicted the future of the Internet. In addition to forecasting more online shopping and showing the geographical distribution of Internet users, the study also showed a dramatic shift toward mobile web use.

So, after the Christmas madness, what do the analysts say now?

A recent article and research published by clickz.com reports that approximately half of all traffic using google is mobile based (around 33% for Bing) and in terms of commerce, figures also suggest 50% of visitors and buyers are using their mobile devices.

What Morgan Stanley didn't predict was the massive uptake of tablets, particularly the iPad; the slide in desktop sails and the penetration of 3g services and evolution to 4g and beyond.

Further reading reinforces the point. Trending towards mobile as a preferred option for finding and procuring services and doing your shopping is only going to gain market share.

The message to small to medium sized businesses and solopreneurs who provide bespoke products and tailored services is a simple one. Your customer is looking for you right now on a mobile device - are you ready? 

As far as an assessment of the validity and longevity of market research, the work done in 2010 was pretty good and close to the mark. What will 2020 bring, with the development of 5g and wearable tech?

For more information on how you can get yourself or your small business online with a mobile & tablet friendly website, visit xealmobile.com or email uk@xealmobile.com for more information.