Beauty businesses below average for mobile accessibility

Only one in five beauty businesses have a mobile-friendly website, leaving the remaining 80% at risk of losing out on business, according to new research.

A survey carried out by website design company Hibu found that 20% of the UK’s beauty businesses offered a website that was formatted to view on a mobile device, with the average rate across all sectors at 26%.

To compare, the industry that came out on top for mobile-friendliness was the locksmith sector, with 39%.

According to a study by Google last year, some 62% of UK adults are now using smartphone, and 87% of those smartphone users in the UK use their phone to search for information about local businesses and services.

Richard Hanscott, chief executive of Hibu UK, said, “Anyone who has visited a website that isn’t mobile-friendly knows how frustrating it is to browse and navigate on their mobile device.

“With consumers increasingly searching local businesses on their smartphones and tablets, it’s crucial that firms have websites that are mobile-friendly so that they continue to attract customers and do not fall behind their competitors.”