'Mobile commerce revealed as Achilles’ heel for retailers'

Weak mobile strategies carried out by online retailers could prove to be a weak

spot during this year's upcoming holiday season and may negatively impact sales, according to a new study.

The 2014 Holiday Retail Audit, published by eBay Enterprise, revealed that mobile commerce continues to be a frail area for online retailers, despite it being the fastest-growing commerce channel.

Only 32 percent of the 1,056 retailers surveyed shared plans for new or continued investments in their mobile commerce this holiday season and one out of three online retailers listed mobile commerce as an investment priority for the season, highlighting the lack of urgency surrounding mobile commerce.

The study warns that the onset of new and improve smartphones and tablets could further affect mobile commerce and interrupt any ongoing retail strategies. ChannelAdvisor, provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions, recent study found that almost half of UK online retailers who participated reported 21-20 percent of their current web traffic coming in from mobile devices.

With mobile commerce predicted to reach 100 billion dollars, or 61 billion pounds, in sales this year and one third of all e-commerce purchases coming from either a tablet or smartphone, online retailers should be solidifying a “long-term mobile infrastructure and strategy,” reported the study.

“As mobile purchasing continues to grow exponentially, a lack of investment in mobile commerce this holiday season provides retailers who have made this a priority, an opportunity to capture significant market share if they can provide the best mobile experience,” noted Mark Lavelle, senior vice president of global product, eBay Enterprise.

“Responsive web design can be a strategic investment for retailers that want to offer a seamless mobile experience across desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Many factors determine the time needed to implement responsive design but we have seen this successfully done on the Magento platform within a month.”