Google Warns, 6 in 10 Will Leave Your Mobile-Unfriendly Site

A reminder from Google on its Mobile Ads Blog: Two thirds of consumers report they’re more likely to buy from a mobile-friendly site, and a little less than two thirds (61%) say they'll abandon a mobile site if they don't see what they want right away.

Those findings are from a Google survey conducted by Sterling Research and SmithGeiger in July of just over 1,000 US smartphone Internet users. Fully 96% of consumers reported they've encountered sites that were clearly not designed for mobile devices. (Think of a newspaper site that simply makes itself tiny to fit a tablet screen. Painful.) 50% of people said that even if they like a business, they will use them less often if the website isn't mobile-friendly. Conversely, of those who have visited a mobile-friendly site, 74% say they're more likely to return.

"The fastest path to mobile customers is through a mobile-friendly site," concludes Google. "If your site offers a great mobile experience, users are more likely to make a purchase."

DudaMobile in February reported that nearly 20% of visits to small business sites led to an immediate call to the business (e.g. with click-to-call), with some local businesses skewing much higher (e.g., pizzerias at 32%, car services at 27.8%). But businesses have to earn that call with a mobile-friendly site that puts that phone number above the fold and in eyeshot.
Google concludes from the new study that non-mobile friendly sites actually damage a company's reputation: 36% of respondents said they felt like they've wasted their time by visiting those sites, and 52% of users said that a bad mobile experience made them less likely to engage with a company. Almost half felt that a site that works poorly on a smartphone indicates a company that does not care about their business.
The upshot seems to be that mobile business is a business’s to win or lose. Consumers expect it. Nay, demand it.