99 of 100 FTSE Firms ‘Fail Mobile Business Test’, says Incentivated

FTSE-100 companies are not mobile-ready and are losing out to US businesses, according to a report from Incentivated. The report says that UK companies are ‘wasting millions of pounds’ on online advertising that sends visitors to sites that are not mobile-optimised. 69 of the 100 offer no mobile version at all. 22 ‘have had a go but scored badly’, eight scored ‘moderately’ but are ‘inadequate’. Marks & Spencer ‘stood out’, scoring four out of five on the test.

Each website was scored based on three objective and two subjective criteria: automatic redirection to a mobile site or responsive site, loading times that suit mobile browsers, optimisation for multiple platforms, useful content for the mobile user and evidence of understanding branding.

70 per cent of the companies surveyed that are using mobile have, the report said, an almost unbranded, homogenised, ‘stacked bricks’ design. ARM, makers of mobile handset processors, and the global advertising agency, WPP, scored 'surprisingly' poorly given their areas of expertise. Seven companies scored zero, including Rolls Royce and International Airlines Group, parent company of British Airways and Iberia.

US brands, including Amazon, eBay, Twitter and Remington do well by comparison, the report said, although Microsoft only scored slightly better than average and Apple does not have a mobile site.