Have you ever sat in a commuter train during peak hour, surrounded by hordes of people, and observed that the carriage is eerily silent? Have you noticed that no one is speaking, and all eyes are cast downward, transfixed on screens? That thumbs are instinctively scrolling, sending messages at a hundred miles an hour and browsing the internet with habitual intent?

Well that, and that alone, gives you one good reason why retail brands should not be ignoring mobile marketing in 2016. Here are five more:

1. Mobile is the new black

As smartphones become more affordable and 3G and 4G networks progress, it’s forecast that two billion consumers will own a smartphone by 2016. Yes, two billion. So, in essence, that’s two billion consumers your brand is missing out on if it fails to market effectively on mobile.

2. An online slow means an offline no

How your brand presents itself online will have very direct and very real ramifications on how it performs offline. In an age where convenience demands that things are readily available at the touch of a button, potential customers simply won’t hang about if the experience isn’t straightforward and fluid. Failure to cater for the mobile market ultimately means you are selling your brand’s potential short. Global consumer reach of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android is estimated at over 400 million – is that something your brand can really afford to ignore?

3. The only way is up

Whether you like it or not, the growth of internet and mobile and the synchronicity of the two is set to become a hallmark of the early 21st century. Whether you’re a self-confessed addict or a conscientious objector, the internet isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s only one way this industry is going – and that’s up. There are already so many ways to be mobile with smartphones, tablets and wearable technology that failure to implement effective marketing strategies across these platforms could ultimately result in the failure of your brand.

4. Getting up close and personal

As marketing approaches steer away from traditional advertising in favour of creating sustained communication with the consumer, mobile offers the perfect platform to do this. Whether it’s customised emails, text messages or mobile-specific discount coupons, mobile is the ideal forum to strike up a conversation.

5. Separation anxiety

A commuter train isn’t the only place you’ll find people attached to their phones. We all have that friend whose thumbs instinctively scroll while they have a conversation. Granted, a lot of the time it’s the repetitive checking of social media, but it’s a fact that four out of five consumers use smartphones to shop. That’s because mobile users are on the go, so if they’re searching online then it tends to be for a specific purpose. Oh, and just a quick FYI: 75 per cent of Americans admit to taking their mobile device with them to the bathroom. So there’s that.

Mobile marketing is the present and the future. It’s efficient, it boasts unrivalled conversion rates and it allows you to deliver a consistent brand message across all relevant mediums. If you’ve resisted jumping on the mobile-marketing bandwagon until now, wait no more. You’re already late to the party. If you wait much longer, you’ll arrive to a drunken uncle and an empty buffet table.