• by Aaron Baar , July 1, 2010

Online retailers are starting to get into the mobile game. According to a new study produced by Forrester Research and Shop.org, nearly three-quarters of online retailers either already have or are developing a mobile strategy.

According to the study, Web retailers are spending an average of $170,000 each this year developing their mobile sites (with large retailers, naturally, spending more and smaller ones spending less).

"Usually, paid-search programs are several million dollars, so the investment in mobile is still modest," Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, tells Marketing Daily, in response to e-mailed questions.

On the other hand, paid search and e-mail marketing continue to command investment, with retailers reporting they are spending nearly 40% of their marketing budgets on paid search. At the same time, retailers are unsure what to make of social marketing. While 80% of online retailers say they are pursuing social strategies in order to experiment and learn about consumers, only 28% said social marketing has helped grow their business.

"Paid search and email are still very effective," Mulpuru says. "It will take a long time for mobile to displace that. The benefit from social is primarily listening and hearing the voice of the customer. In some cases, it's about revenue generation, but that is less common."

But while investment in mobile strategy is still relatively modest, Mulpuru expects it to steadily increase, particularly as the mobile Web becomes more popular through greater acceptance of smartphones.

"Over time we'll see more investment in mobile -- it's an inevitably growing part of Web usage," she says. "I think most retailers are somewhat concerned about the price comparisons, but it's also the ability to push content to customers, enable customers to service themselves, and enable shoppers to read content like reviews in the store."