Why brands struggle with mobile—and how to achieve a more unified strategy

The mobile landscape is rapidly evolving, and a strong mobile strategy is essential for B2C brands. Brands must prioritize a unified mobile approach to stay competitive, according to new research from Airship in partnership with EMARKETER based on an October 2024 survey of 120 B2C global brands.

Here are three key takeaways.

1. Fragmentation hampers success

Many brands struggle with a disconnected mobile strategy, negatively impacting customer experience.

• 90.3% of brands acknowledge that a disjointed mobile marketing strategy is a major obstacle.
• This fragmentation often stems from a lack of centralized ownership, with 47.5% of B2C brands reporting that multiple teams or an outside agency manage their mobile strategy.
• Just 12.5% of brands have a dedicated mobile strategy design team and only 10.8% have a dedicated execution team.

This lack of clear ownership leads to inconsistent customer experiences, missed engagement opportunities, and challenges in measuring campaign effectiveness. However, most brands are aware of the issue and 71.0% are actively working on a more integrated mobile strategy.

2. Mobile is a critical touchpoint

Mobile devices are becoming the primary way consumers interact with digital media.

• By 2026, almost half (48.8%) of the total time spent with digital media in the US will be on mobile devices, according to a March 2024 EMARKETER forecast.
• Roughly 4 out of every 5 website visits happened on a mobile device in 2023, according to data from Semrush.
• Also, 58.3% of brands say their mobile device strategy is critical to their customer engagement strategy.

This highlights the importance of a well-defined mobile strategy that creates a seamless consumer journey across channels including social media, paid media, email, SMS, and push notifications.

3. Brands face barriers in uniting mobile efforts

Brands face several challenges in creating a cohesive mobile experience, with 79.2% citing a lack of goal alignment and priorities across departments as a significant hurdle.

• Insufficient resources (78.3%), budget constraints (76.7%), and gaps in technology (76.7%) also pose significant challenges.
• Additionally, a lack of access to required data was cited as challenging for 80% of brands.

To achieve a more integrated mobile strategy, brands should unify mobile strategy ownership, align the organization around common goals, invest in data collection and analysis, and measure success based on key business outcomes.

Download the full report.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.