hibu research reveals mobile opportunity in the US
Contents Introduction How we did the audit Why we did the audit: SMBs mobile challenge US insights & conclusions Device-specific statements Additional US research conclusions Location-specific statements Industry-specific statements p. 3 p. 5 p. 7 p. 8 p. 9 p. 10 p. 10 p. 11
Introduction hibu has revealed new research showing the size of the mobile opportunity for US SMBs websites. 56% smartphones 1 & With of US adults using 82% of these US adults browsing the internet on their phone, SMBs without a mobilefriendly website could be missing out on a significant amount of business from potential customers. 1 Realising this opportunity, hibu undertook research into the mobile-friendliness of 2,000 SMBs websites: 1,000 for the US and 1,000 from the UK. This audit, showing the seismic changes taking place in the marketplace, has been conducted across 10 different industries, in both the US and UK, across the 10 largest cities in both these markets.
From Los Angeles to London and from plumbers to florists, this research dissects how businesses are set-up to meet the mobile challenge on both sides of the Atlantic. So, who s leading the pack and who needs a kick-start? Los Angeles How do Chicago SMBs (small & medium sized businesses) fare in the mix? How do locksmiths stack up against electricians? London What follows focuses on the US market but you can find more information on the UK here: http://business.hibu.co.uk/knowledge/hibu-uk-mobile-audit/
How we did the audit Plumbers in New York hibu used Google desktop search to select the SMBs' websites to audit. For example, a search for 'Plumbers in New York' was made in Google and the first 10 plumbers that were returned were selected to audit. This process was repeated for each industry in each of the 10 cities to select 1,000 businesses overall in the US. The audit of these websites was completed using a third-party tool called Browserstack, which live tests how a website looks on different mobile devices. If a website did not support viewing on the mobile device it was being tested for, it was marked 'NO' in our research. If it did support viewing on the mobile device, it was marked 'YES'.
hibu tested all the SMBs websites across these 3 devices: The industries were: ipad (4th Gen) In these US cities: Plumbing & Heating Building & Construction Electrician Taxi/Limo Hire Hotels/B&B Chicago San Jose Hairdressing Beauty Locksmith Restaurant Florist Los Angeles San Diego Phoenix Dallas Houston San Antonio New York Philadelphia
Why we did the audit: SMBs mobile challenge hibu wants to help SMBs compete with big business in the battle for mobile and online customers. At present, the enthusiasm, innovation and will to succeed shown by SMBs is not meeting the mobile challenge from online growth in retail and services. This research aims to understand the scale and nature of this challenge, so that SMBs are able to begin competing in this space and harness their creative spirit. By addressing the digital gaps in the mobile market, hibu believes SMBs can begin to customize a personal, multi-channel marketing response to showcase their expertise. It s critical in business that SMBs meet their customers where they are, and these customers are increasingly on mobile devices - using smartphones and tablets to find and purchase products locally. Historically, SMBs have not had access to the necessary tools to target these customers, but now smaller to medium sized businesses can create a website or online shop that fully adapts to mobile and start selling and advertising to prospects in the space of 10 minutes. As customers try to find relevant businesses online, looking for one-stop, intuitive user experiences from start to finish, hibu believes that success for SMBs can be found in creating and delivering digital solutions that go right into the palm of the customer.
US insights & conclusions + Hotel & B&B firms have the most number of websites Only 20% of Building & Construction, and 25% of electrician firms have websites With 69% of US smartphone users using the internet on their phone multiple times a day¹ and 83% of smartphone users never leaving home without it 1, the need for a site has never been greater.
The following insights and conclusions have been drawn from the hibu US mobile audit, October 2013, amongst websites audited. 87% of SMBs websites do not support viewing on the 60% of SMBs websites do not support viewing on the iphone 65% of SMBs websites do not support viewing on the 6% of SMBs websites support viewing on one mobile device only 23% of SMBs websites support viewing on two mobile devices 12% of SMBs websites support viewing on three mobile devices
Additional US research conclusions Over half of SMBs websites are NOT SMBs websites are more likely to be viewable on two or three device types rather than only one. The is the most popular mobile device for SMBs websites to be viewable on Location-specific statements Businesses in Houston have the most number of websites, while businesses in New York have the least number of websites. New York sits bottom of the list in terms of mobile-friendliness for and ipad (Houston is 75% better at supporting mobile viewing than NYC) with only Philadelphia performing worse than New York as a city on devices. 67% 67% 65% 64% 63% 61% 58% 57% + SMBs in Houston have the most number of websites 44% 42% - SMBs in Philadelphia and New York have the least number of websites Chicago Dallas Houston Los Angeles New York Philadelphia Phoenix San Antonio San Diego San Jose % of SMBs that do not have a website:
Industry-specific statements Hotels and B&Bs have the most number of websites, while building and construction websites have the least. Hotels and B&Bs have 3.5 times as many websites that support viewing on the than building and construction, and 3 times as many websites that support viewing on the than building and construction. There are 3 times as many restaurants and plumbing websites that support viewing for ipad than florists. 75 % of websites that support viewing on,, & ipad Websites that support viewing on Websites that support viewing on 50 Websites that support viewing on ipad 25 Houston Dallas Los Angeles Chicago San Jose San Diego San Antonio Phoenix Philadelphia New York
TA X I Hotel & B&B Industry 63% Hotels & B&Bs have the most number of websites. 57% 63% 14% Locksmith Industry 45% Restaurant Industry 52% 43% 44% 12% 46% 51% 21% Hairdressing Industry 37% Taxi & Limo Industry 44% 35% 36% 14% 37% 44% 7%
Beauty Industry 41% Florist Industry 42% 32% 37% 17% 20% 42% 7% Electrician Industry 25% Plumbing Industry 43% 18% 22% 10% 39% 40% 21% Building & Construction Industry 19% 18% 11% 20% Building & Construction websites have the least number of websites
Keep in touch with us and get more advice: blog.hibu.com facebook.com/hibuus twitter.com/hibuus linkedin.com/company/hibu Need help getting started? Why not let us do it for you? With our hibu Websites product we can build you a stunning website - optimized for all devices, SEO and social. For more information visit hibu.com, speak to your account manager or call 1-800-929-3556. Source: hibu US mobile audit, October 2013, amongst websites audited. [1] Our Mobile Planet, US, Google, 2013 hibu Inc. 2014. hibu, made for business and other TM are trademarks of hibu (UK) Limited or its licensors. All rights reserved. hibu Inc., 6300 C Street, Cedar Rapids, IA 54206.