The findings are detailed in the 2015 Small Business Perspectives on Mobile, a survey of more than 900 of Endurance's small business customers. The survey provides insight into small business owners' attitudes and beliefs regarding mobile applications and future investment priorities in mobile solutions. View the infographic to see more. The survey is part of Endurance's ongoing research on small business perspectives and priorities. In January, Endurance released a similar report detailing small business attitudes on the economy. On Friday, Endurance will participate for the first time at SXSW Interactive, where it will host an event to showcase its latest initiatives in mobile for small business.

"Creating an effective online and mobile presence is critical for small businesses to stay competitive and relevant to their customers," said Hari Ravichandran, founder and CEO of Endurance. "Historically, sales success has been driven by word of mouth, customer service, or competitive pricing. But with the rise of mobile, customers increasingly control the reins--they have access to information about competitive products and pricing at their fingertips, long before they step foot into your business."

"For small business owners, it's important that they have access to affordable, easy-to-use tools that can get them online and mobile without complication. Our survey shows that small businesses understand the growth opportunities associated with mobile applications, but many feel that they don't have the time, resources, or expertise to create or manage a mobile solution for their business. That's why Endurance continues to invest in developing first-in-class mobile tools for small business owners because every business, not just the ones with deep pockets, should be able to take advantage of the growing mobile opportunity," said Ravichandran.

The $500 Billion Opportunity
Digital devices' influence on in-store purchase behavior is growing: more than $500 billion in sales is now influenced by mobile content. By the end of 2014, the portion of mobile-influenced in-store retail sales was expected to jump to more than 50%(([1])). A vast majority of small business owners understand this opportunity--more than 70% of survey respondents feel having a mobile solution or app would positively impact their business--but they are slow to act because of the perceived barriers to entry.

Immediate Obstacles
The top challenges facing small businesses in regard to mobile, according to respondents, are not having a mobile presence (50%); reaching a new, younger customer demographic (37%); and too much time and resources required to enable mobile sales (37%). Despite recognition that they must have a mobile presence to stay competitive, small business owners encounter barriers before they can begin. Half of respondents cite lack of skill and knowledge as the biggest barrier to having a mobile solution or app and nearly a quarter (22%) cite concerns about cost.

Mobile Leads the Future
The outlook for small businesses on mobile is strong--survey participants are willing to explore and take advantage of an effective strategy. More than half of respondents (55%) agree that mobile tools are fundamentally changing the nature of sales for their business. As small businesses consider mobile solutions, respondents named device platform and compatibility (59%), ease of content authoring and content management system ("CMS") integration (47%) and personalization and easy customization (46%) as the top three most important features from a list of seven. Nearly three quarters of survey participants (71%) plan to make a financial investment in mobile solutions within the next two years.