• by Ryan Bifulco , Op-Ed Contributor, September 30, 2014

Mobile is awesome and it is the future, but we seem to have a lot of mixed messages on mobile. Here are some thoughts and stats on the mysteries and misconceptions of mobile:

1. Mobile is up 1,000% while desktop is dead

New data from Chartbeat shows that, yes, mobile is rising but at times of the day when desktop was already quite low. Mobile time goes up and does not seem to compete as much as you would think with desktop. We typically use our laptops and desktops at work during the day and then our mobile devices in the early morning plus later at night. Joshua Benton at Neiman Lab has a solid piece he wrote before this data even came out. 

2. You must have an app

Yes, apps are great but they are not for every brand or situation. A new Google travel report showed that business travelers preferred booking on apps while leisure travelers tended to book on mobile sites. This makes sense as business travelers are creatures of habit and focus on their loyalty points and miles. We all remember George Clooney in the movie, “Up in the Air,” as the road warrior racking up millions of miles. Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham, would not want to mess about and would want to save time using an efficient app again and again even as his destination changed. 

3. Don't treat smartphones like tablets; Google doesn't 

MediaPost’s Mobile Marketing Daily has another great article on this topic showing that Forrester recommends separating traffic from smartphones and tablets. Google concurs and offers tablet and desktop ad buys together because it has found that tablet use more closely resembles a PC rather than a handset. While we're at it, is it time to change the term "desktop" if it now includes desktops, laptops and tablets?

4. Travel is different than retail

Yes, mobile is booming everywhere and that trend will only continue. But we cannot review stats from a showrooming retail mobile report and assume the same will hold true for mobile bookings in the travel sector. 

 In 2015, desktop will still account for a whopping 75% of all travel bookings, according to PhoCusWright. 

The travel industry, in particular, needs more research about bookings on tablet compared to desktop and smartphone. Travel brands and especially attractions, tourism boards and hotels need to get creative with their mobile strategies involving interacting with a traveler while they are in destination. Airlines have done a great job with mobile check-in type apps and alerts as mobile has a wide variety of uses beyond just booking.

5. All mobile bookings are booming

Just because last-minute hotel bookings are exploding on smartphones does not mean you need to follow right now. If your hotel or destination typically sees a traveler stay for 7 days and book 120 days out, then you would not want to invest all your dollars in reaching people on a smartphone. The MediaPost Mobile Insider Summit revealed that if Orbitz did that they would be in big trouble as two-thirds of their mobile bookings came last minute on the same day! And my guess is that that two-thirds smartphone figure goes up a bit more if you include people booking within the last seven days before a trip. IHG confirmed the trend as they are seeing last-minute bookings on mobile phones skyrocket. 

Closing

What does all this mean? Mobile is here and offers unlimited possibilities. Just be sure you keep in mind the types of travel products you offer and how far in advance a consumer books them before you finalize your mobile strategy. Don't just use generic terms like "mobile" inside your organization as it will only create confusion. Instead be specific about your goals and which devices are the best fit. And don't pull all your funds out of desktop in order to invest in mobile. A balanced approach with lots of testing will work better as you don't want to see Ryan Bingham pop by your office.