This holiday season saw a boom in mobile shopping. Mobile sales increased 63 percent on Black Friday and 13 percent of all web-based purchases on Cyber Monday were made via mobile device, according to a recent report by IBM. Unfortunately, many small businesses did not reap the benefits of this record growth as they have yet to take their businesses mobile.

This past year saw mobile growth and many small businesses were hesitant to jump on the mobile bandwagon. Yet, Gartner is predicting that mobile devices will be the most common way to access the Web in 2013. Now is the time to take your small business mobile.

Luckily, creating a mobile presence has never been easier or more affordable for small businesses. Solutions like App Express allow small businesses to create a mobile app and have a one-page mobile-optimized website so customers can find your app and business information online.

Once your business has a mobile presence, you can connect with mobile customers, build customer loyalty, and use your location as an advantage by offering deals to local customers. This allows your business to compete effectively with larger and online businesses.

So when the 2013 holiday season comes around, you’ll be ready to reap the rewards of mobile shoppers.