The Importance of Being Mobile

Chances are you found this on your phone. That matters, because your customers are living there too, and dealerships win or lose attention in the “small screen” moments.

Mobile is no longer a side channel. It’s the main doorway. In the U.S., 98% of adults own a cellphone and 91% own a smartphone, which means the default customer experience is mobile-first whether you planned for it or not. 

Your customers are mobile. Here’s what that looks like now.

• Smartphones are nearly universal. Even among adults 65+, smartphone ownership is still high (Pew’s 2025 survey shows 78% for 65+). 

• People check early and often. Deloitte reports more than one-third of consumers check their phone within five minutes of waking. That’s before coffee, which feels rude, but here we are. 

• Most of your web traffic is likely mobile. In December 2025, Similarweb shows mobile at 59.21% of U.S. traffic, ahead of desktop. 

What that means for a dealership

Mobile behavior turns into dealership outcomes fast:

1) Your website has to work on mobile, period.

Google primarily uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking (mobile-first indexing). If the mobile experience is slow, broken, or missing content, you do not get the same visibility or conversion opportunity. 

2) Your CRM phone numbers are likely mobile-heavy.

That’s often true for modern consumer lists, but instead of guessing, treat it like a measurable. Use phone-type validation (mobile vs landline) before you decide how to allocate budget across voice, email, and SMS. (If a vendor cannot support phone-type intelligence or deliverability reporting, keep shopping.)

3) SMS deserves a real strategy.

Industry benchmarks commonly cited put SMS around a 98% open rate and “read within minutes” behavior. Treat those as directional, not gospel. Use them to justify testing and building a compliant program that you can measure. 

The simple decision

If customers browse, shop, and communicate on mobile, then your marketing and operations need to meet them there:

• Mobile-first website experience (speed, clarity, tap-friendly layout, click-to-call/text). 

• Messaging that fits the moment (service updates, sales follow-up, event pushes, offers).

• Measurement that ties activity to appointments, leads, and sold units.

Mobile is already affecting your bottom line. The practical move is to invest intentionally instead of letting it happen accidentally.

Ron previously wrote this article to appear on his blog @ PowersportsBusiness.com