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The Desktop Vs Mobile Report: Where SMBs Get Their Users Wrong


In this Marketing Report:

Today, the choice between mobile and desktop experiences plays a pivotal role in shaping how businesses connect with customers.

This study investigates user preferences for mobile and desktop interfaces and assesses how effectively businesses are meeting these preferences.

Are businesses aligning with user preferences, or are there gaps to address? Join us as we explore this dynamic to see if businesses find actionable insights for success in the digital age.

At a glance:

Our survey indicates that people still prefer to book things on desktop – but businesses still think their users prefer mobile. Scroll to learn more about this gap 👇.

mobile vs desktop summary stat 1
mobile vs desktop summary stat 2

30% of businesses surveyed are mobile-optimised and 22% receive mobile traffic – but 14.5% are still desktop only. Are they falling behind? 🤔

As many as 15% of businesses say they won’t invest in mobile readiness because they can’t find the right partner. Read on to see how Sortlist can help with that 🔍.

mobile vs desktop summary stat 3

Not so mobile after all: 52% prefer booking on desktop

By a narrow, yet revealing margin, desktop still trumps mobile for users when it comes to booking online.

However, data at Sortlist shows that businesses still think their users prefer mobile—in fact, as many as 66% of SMBs still believe so, showing a disparity between how users behave and what businesses are delivering. Let’s dive deeper.

Mobile is preferred for requesting rides and booking restaurants

If we look at the preferences by user activity, it becomes clear which are more prone to be done on mobile and which on desktop.

In particular, requesting rides for transportation (75.38%) and booking reservations on restaurants (69.9%) seem to be done mostly on mobile.

statistics for transportation and restaurants, mobile vs desktop

Below you can see the split of mobile and desktop preference per activity surveyed:

However, data at Sortlist shows that these preferences vary by country. Below you can see the preference split of some of the most common activities in the United Kingdom:

Speed and ease of navigation: top priorities for users when deciding between mobile and desktop

When it comes to deciding between mobile and desktop, users’ priorities are also different depending on the country.

In the United Kingdom, businesses and users are mostly aligned in terms of their priorities for mobile and desktop.

ease of navigation top priority for users in the UK when deciding between mobile or desktop

These are the priorities of users in the UK and how they compare to the global average:

30% of businesses are mobile-optimised; 15% are desktop-only

We asked SMBs across several industries about how prepared their businesses were when it came to mobile readiness.

However, not every business seems to be aligned with what users prefer, particularly on mobile. If we look again at the activities analysed before, we see a clear disparity between users’ preferences for those activities and the perception of businesses in the industries related to those activities.

The industries in which that disparity is smallest are banking and transportation, and even in those there’s a 10% gap between users and businesses.

Business investments in mobile: 15% can’t find the right partner

However, when looking at the global results across markets, it’s evident that most businesses are undervaluing the importance that users place on speed and ease of navigation; we see in both of them the highest differences between users’ needs and businesses’ perceptions.

Given these differences, we wanted to ask the SMBs who were not planning to invest in mobile to specify the reasons for that.

reasons for not investing in mobile readiness

And 15% said they won’t do so because they can’t find the right partner, highlighting the need for better business-provider synergy.

Choosing the right provider is a minefield. It can be a make or break hire for an SMB. They all seem good… are those at the top of Google the best, or do they have the best SEO?

There’s a lack of transparency about service providers, and it holds many businesses back. That’s especially true with the smaller providers: huge talents that can go uncovered.


That’s why we founded Sortlist, to bring that transparency, and match businesses with the best agency, not just the biggest.

Nicolas Finet, foundeR of Sortlist

Industry breakdown: From travel and healthcare to banking and events

Restaurants

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Restaurant industry

The number of restaurant businesses that are desktop-only almost mirrors the number of users that prefer to book reservations there. But the industry is not missing out, as 60% of SMBs say they have their own app, which is ideal in order to capture the more than 60% of users that prefer mobile.

Top priorities for UK Restaurant businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

The restaurant businesses that plan to invest in mobile readiness in the next 18 months are aligned with what their users want; ease of navigation and speed are among the top priorities that both have in common.

Travel

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Travel industry

Top priorities for UK Travel businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

The travel industry is one where priorities seem to be misplaced, as most users claim to book trips and accommodations on desktop, but travel businesses’ top investment priority is in the creation of a dedicated app.

Automotive

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Automotive industry

Top priorities for UK Automotive businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

The automotive industry also plans to work on speed and ease of navigation for their mobile app or website, which could help increase the number of mobile users.

Banking & Finance

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Banking & Finance industry

Top priorities for UK Banking & Finance businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

Priorities seem to be perfectly aligned in the Banking & Finance industry, as a very low number of businesses there are desktop-only, which pairs nicely with the overwhelming number of mobile users.

Healthcare

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Healthcare industry

Top priorities for UK Healthcare businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

Most healthcare SMBs plan on investing in social media integrations for their mobile business, delivering on users’ preference to access healthcare services on mobile devices.

Online Gaming

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Online Gaming industry

Top priorities for UK Online Gaming businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

As an industry known for its mobile tendency, online gaming users seem to mostly still play on desktop, but that does not stop businesses in the sector to invest in social media integrations.

Transportation

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Transportation industry

Top priorities for UK Transportation businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

Most of users that request rides do so on mobile, which could explain why businesses in the transportation industry plan to invest in cross-device sync.

Entertainment & Events

Mobile user preferences vs. preparedness of businesses in the Entertainment & Events industry

Top priorities for UK Entertainment & Events businesses by level of preparedness

User priorities in industry vs. priorities of businesses in industry that will invest in mobile readiness

As a point of interest, the split between mobile and desktop users that purchase event tickets is equally divided, signalling a potential for SMBs in this industry that are desktop-only to capture new business.

Methodology

This study was the result of two surveys on 600 users carried out from September 1st to September 8th, 2023. The first one was directed at casual users in the United Kingdom to determine their preference for mobile and desktop for specific booking activities. The second one was aimed at business owners in the United Kingdom in industries that corresponded to those user activities. The responses are anonymous.

About the Sortlist Data Hub

The Sortlist Data Hub is the place to be for journalists and industry leaders who seek data-driven reports from the marketing world, gathered from our surveys, partner collaborations, and internal data of more than 50,000 industries.

It is designed to be a space where the numbers on marketing are turned into easy-to-read reports and studies.

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