Millennial Statistics to Remember: Reinforcing Mobile UX Importance
Everywhere you turn, you see young people staring down at their smartphones or tablets, tapping away as they shop online, answer a text message, respond to an email, or play their favorite app. Over the past few years, the love that young people have for their mobile devices has turned into an obsession, and companies are beginning to take advantage of it.
A new study conducted by Zogby Analytics shows that approximately 90% of millennials (the name of people who make up Generation Y) say that their smartphones are never far out of sight, or rarely ever leave their side. Two hours of each day spent by 78% of the millennials studied include texting, talking, tweeting and surfing the web. Mobile devices have also made shopping more convenient, as Generation Y uses very little energy and dedicates very little time to make a purchase. For companies, this is important information. More importantly, businesses are beginning to understand how to maximize exposure through mobile devices and make conversions.
But how?
The Faces of Generation Y
Before I answer this question, we must first understand who millennials are. If you were born between the years of 1977 and 2000, you are a millennial. Congratulations! You are part of the first generation of “digital natives.”
More than 80 million people make up Generation Y, which makes this generation larger than the baby Boomer generation and Generation X. This large amount of people also makes up 25% of the United States population. Businesses cannot and should not ignore the buying power of millennials, as they are trendsetters and has a huge influence on how the advertising industry will grow in the future.
Millennials are different than people who grew up in previous generations because they are interested in participating in your marketing initiatives through social media, sharing your content and creating their own content based on your brand – all of this activity done through a mobile device.
Companies Can Advertise to Millennials by Understanding Their Habits
If companies understand that millennials are doing their shopping through their smartphone or tablet, than why not take advantage of this habit? If millennials spend their entire day with their mobile device by their side, companies can make sure their advertisements are the first thing they see.
If your company isn’t speaking the mobile language, then it is missing the boat. Young consumers are demanding user-friendly websites that they can navigate on their mobile device. If they see that your website is not mobile user-friendly, they will think your company is out of date and will not want to do business with you.
Google Taking Charge in Mobile UX Revolution
Google is making a big push to ensure that search results will reflect the revolution of mobile usage, specifically the experience a user has when visiting a mobile website. Is Google interested in leading the revolution in making the web a better place in a mobile environment? One sign that could answer this question is that Google will make sure webmaster make their mobile website user-friendly because they are in the process of adding it to their search ranking algorithm.
Why does Google believe mobile user experience is important? According to the company’s recent mobile statistics, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile website if they have trouble accessing it from their smartphone or tablet.
Because Google is in the process in adding mobile user experience to their search rank algorithm, we believe webmasters will be forced to adopt the best practices on their mobile website.
E-Retailers Can Expect Great Results from Launching a Mobile-Friendly Site
NetElixir has compiled insights proving the revenue-generating power of launching a mobile-friendly website including an 86% increase in YOY conversions after launching a mobile-friendly website, a 15% increase in paid visits from a mobile site and a 23% increase in paid traffic after implementing a mobile-friendly platform.
Ok, so businesses now understand that having a mobile-friendly website is important if they want to stay in the game and beat out the competition. But, how do they do that?
Simplify Your Site Design
You can simply pull up your website on your own smartphone or tablet and see whether or not your website needs a change in design. Rule of thumb: if you are having a hard time navigating your website, chances are EVERYONE DOES! Simple design changes include using simpler designs, implementing larger font sizes. All critical information should be placed above the fold, including an “About Us” tab and “Contact Us” tab.
Continue to Proof Your Website
As you begin to make long-term plans and investments in your business, you should plan on making long-term re-design goals on your list as well. Ten years ago, most companies didn’t care about the mobile user experience because it wasn’t a trend yet. Stay ahead of the latest trends by ensuring your website can reach customers via desktop, tablet and smartphone. Who knows – maybe ten years from now you will need to begin to optimize your website to reach consumers via bathroom mirror or refrigerator door!
NetElixir can be your partner in this journey as we are dedicated to humanizing every click – or in this case, humanizing every tap! Is your website set up for an exceptional mobile user experience?
