Half of all Cellphones in U.S. are now Smartphones

Nielson has just posted an update on how many cellphones in the U.S. are smartphones. In February 2011, 36% of mobile phones were smartphones. One year later, February 2012, that number is now up to 49.7%, an increase of 38% in just 1 year!

What is driving this is the fact that more than 2/3 of new mobile phones being sold are now smartphones.

What does this mean for businesses and their marketing? It means that usage of the mobile web is skyrocketing. Those that think that they don’t need a mobile site because they show up on the first page of Google in the Google Places spots are sadly underestimating what their potential customers are looking for. They want more than just to have a click to call button.

And what about customers who look up a website on their smartphone, only to find there is no mobile site, only a site they cannot read or have to pinch and move around to read small pieces at a time. Businesses need a mobile site for more reasons than just for someone to find them and call. The lack of a mobile site also reflects a a lack of concern for their customers’ satisfaction and ease of use of their website.

To ignore the growing use of the mobile platform is a gross oversight and many businesses are being left behind. They have no idea how much business they ultimately lose because they choose to believe mobile isn’t important to their customers.