Small Business Technology News

Survey: Mobile Apps Integral To Small Business Operations

Written by Jenna Weiner
Published: 3/16/2011

Nearly three-quarters of small business owners report they use mobile apps as part of their business operations.

While small business technology news has been dominated by social innovations such as location-based marketing and group purchasing sites, mobile is beginning to move up in the ranks.

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According to the AT&T Small Business Technology Poll, nearly 72 percent of business owners indicated that they use mobile apps in their business, with 38 percent reporting that it would either be a major challenge to survive or that they couldn't survive without mobile apps.

The businesses further noted that the driving force behind mobile app adoption was the time savings, increased productivity and reduction of costs they created. Of the wide variety of apps available, GPS/navigation and mapping mobile apps were found to be the most popular, with 49 percent reportedly using them.

Owners who leverage these technologies not just for their day-to-day use but to help consumers may gain an edge over competitors as well, Practical Ecommerce explains.

"The penetration of mobile devices that work easily and have the right interface for commerce is rising dramatically," said Liz Claiborne CEO Bill McComb in an interview with the site. "Mobile devices will help shoppers compare and find lower prices, including by bar code scanning. They will tap into social networking, affiliate buying systems and make shopping more viral."

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