In 2011 the number of smartphones used on the internet increased dramatically. During 2012, global shipments of smartphone’s are expected to exceed shipments of desktops/laptops. The number of pages loaded in smartphones still lags desktop/laptop, but this will change as more people upgrade to smartphones. By 2014, over 50% of pageviews are expected to be done on smartphones. Ignoring this trend is not advisable.
In South Africa, there is aggressive demand for smartphones, and new internet users are jumping in, skipping desktops/laptops completely. The desktop is seen as a dinosaur. With rampant cable theft, wireless technology is seen as a viable way to expand broadband internet in our South African context. These trends will feed directly into smartphone demand. The cost of a smartphone is less than a desktop/laptop, and has wireless technology built in.
It you want your website to be accessible on smartphones, then you have to build support for smartphones into your website. Smartphone users will be less likely to spend a lot of time browsing websites which are not optimised for smartphones. The less time some one spends on your website, the less likely they will become a customer of yours.
Make 2012 the year you design your site for smartphone, if you have not done so already.
* based on stats from onlinemarketing-trends.com