If you’re pressed for time, here’s the takeaway point of this article: Don’t put all of your figurative eggs in the mobile commerce basket just yet.  Information gathered by eMarketer indicates that growth in this field is painfully slow.

An eMarketer article states, “A 2008 Nielsen Mobile poll found that only 9.2 million US mobile subscribers purchased goods or services with their handset – a low figure when compared with a JPMorgan projection of 233 million total subscribers.  Even lower next to eMarketer’s estimate of 270 million US mobile phone subscribers in 2008.”

And although 2009 might be better – the iPhone, the Palm Pre, and the Android operating system are liable to help – stats suggesting that any sort of huge surge has taken place haven’t appeared.

Plus, even if people do start to make purchases using their phones, a Harris Interactive poll found that individuals generally aren’t willing to go for expensive items, opting instead for cheap stuff like pizza, movie tickets, and music.  Admittedly, hotel rooms count as a pricey, high-ranking item, but you have to figure the overlap of need and convenience is a huge factor there.

So if your blog or site isn’t optimized for viewing on a cell phone, well, don’t sweat it.  This might be a fine option to pursue if you have the time, but otherwise, your energy can probably be put to better use.

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