With a forecasted 60% of the American population using smartphones by 2016, it’s safe to say that the original method of accessing the Internet via laptops and desktop PCs has started to lose its dominancy. Our culture has rapidly adapted to a mobile-friendly environment, with smartphone and tablet integration coming from a variety of previously-unconnected industries, including automobiles and consumer appliances. This newfound, permanently-online connectivity will obviously affect business websites on every level, but what may surprise you is how fast these changes may occur and how profound a transformation they could trigger. To help spur your interest in thoroughly immersing yourself in this study, here are 4 aspects of the mobile market that will impact small businesses in the near future:

Business Websites Will Be Structured From A Mobile-As-Primary Perspective

Despite the ever-increasing amount of websites that support a mobile-specific format, the primary structure at the moment seems to be PC-focused. However, the paradigm-shifting growth of mobile devices may soon cause this trend to be reversed, with the “main” aspect of a website designed to be seen on a 5-inch touch screen first, with secondary consideration given to those who will access it via desktop or laptop.

Small businesses that are just now at the point of including a mobile-friendly format for their site may find themselves devoting far more resources to it in the near future than previously imagined, with an increased emphasis on brevity and interactivity with their customers.

Mobile-Dominant Customer Interactions May Require More Frequent Updates Than Traditional Websites

As smartphones and tablets continue to advance and diversify at an incredible rate, mobile apps may undergo more frequent changes and updates than the more static offerings available on traditional PCs. For a small business, this obviously means considerably more resources expended to ensure that a website is properly formatted and available to a consumer base with ever-evolving technology, which will potentially require an increased reliance on web developers to ensure this modern and competitive web presence.

There Will Be An Explosion Of Consumer Data To Sift Through

Mobile-specific apps, and the increased connectivity of the world in general, has created an environment where consumers volunteer large amounts of personal information for public consumption, whether it’s through gadget registration, social media, or other sources. This expanded wealth of consumer data is already leading to expensive marketing resources being generated, and this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Small business owners should remember to tread conservatively at first in this newfound industry, as there will likely be vast amounts of consumer information available for purchase that is irrelevant to the immediate task of improving a customer’s interaction with your small business via the Internet.

Privacy And Identity Theft Concerns Will Become More Widespread

Any business that conducts financial transactions online is already aware of the considerable resources required to properly safeguard a user’s sensitive information, and this requirement will only increase in the future as smartphones and tablets become dominant. Mobile devices in general are more susceptible to fraud and identity theft, due to their always-connected nature and the unfortunate ease with which they’re stolen. A stolen smartphone can be used to acquire a consumer’s sensitive info in moments by accessing an online account that displays debit card and social security numbers, home addresses, and more, and unfortunately for the individual, many smartphone apps will keep a user logged into their account unless specifically told otherwise. Depending on the industry, there is a strong possibility that businesses will see an increase in fraudulent spending in the near future, along with the associated costs involved in resolving these complaints and safeguarding against future outbreaks.

While traditional PC use is far from extinct—and has actually increased in the world of professional use—the consumer world is clearly trending towards a mobile-dominant future. Succeeding in this new environment will require developing businesses to have a strong format for being accessed via smartphones and tablets, and will require a greatly increased amount of updates and customer-interactivity than ever before.

Author bio:

John is a blogger who is still amazed that a majority of children in the U.S. access the Internet for the first time with a smartphone or tablet. He writes for protectyourbubble.com, an Internet insurer that can help protect your mobile device from defects, accidental damage, theft, and more.