Web Sites Still Core to Mobile Strategy

Adobe survey indicates apps play a supporting role in digital commerce and promotions.

By Bill Mickey
Tuesday, August 17, 2010

With the explosion of mobile apps, businesses are increasingly faced with yet another decision about where to focus their marketing priorities—app or mobile Web site? A recent survey conducted by Adobe indicates that organizations appear to be overwhelmingly taking a Web-based approach to their mobile commerce strategies, but apps are still a significant part of the overall program.

Eighty percent of respondents say they're planning or have already launched a mobile Web site. That's compared to a mere 8 percent who have developed an app-only mobile strategy. The survey, called "Adobe Scene7 Mobile Commerce Survey" received 446 responses, the majority from executives at companies in retail, interactive and advertising agencies, computer hardware and software service companies, and the media.

Accordingly, 75 percent of respondents say that promotion is the key component of their mobile strategy, indicating that the device is a tool to drive consumers back to the site to complete a conversion or support cross-channel sales. Online commerce, product information and branding followed in the top four with about 62 percent, 58 percent and 54 percent of responses respectively.

Of course, this isn't an either/or scenario. In a sense, the survey simply reflects what many companies are already doing—spreading their opportunities across a multichannel strategy. With the anywhere-anytime proclivities of consumers, it's incumbent on companies to deploy their services across different channels of access. Respondents also indicated that they're developing iPhone apps (54 percent) and iPad apps (37 percent). Android apps came in at about 26 percent.