Not only are the devices preferred by Internet users changing, so is their behaviour.
Gartner research shows that people using smartphones access the Internet an average of 20 times a day with sessions lasting about a minute, compared with four times daily for about 35 minutes a pop on traditional computers.
“It is a big challenge, because the behaviour associated with a smartphone is dramatically different from a notebook computer,” Baker said.
“Your experience needs to be two clicks deep and be done in a minute,” he continued. “If it takes any longer, they are gone.”
Smartphones in particular have small screens, raising the risk of people being annoyed by advertising.
Mobile devices also allow location, calendar information and other contextual data to be woven into services to win people over with desirable information at just the right moments and places.
“The opportunity to be relevant or helpful is much greater because of the contextual information,” said Forrester analyst Charles Golvin.
“If you interrupt me and adopt the old get-in-your-face approach of many marketers, you are much more likely to sour any potential relationship.”
Internet companies don’t have the luxury of focusing on either mobile devices or traditional computers; they must tailor offerings for both, according to analysts.