Just over half of companies engaged in business-to-business e-commerce, or 51%, say they already operate a mobile commerce site or app, according to a survey sponsored by Intershop of 400 companies in the United States and Europe. Of the other 49%, nearly half say they plan to have a mobile commerce presence by the second quarter of next year.

That amounts to about 75% of companies that will be accessible to clients using mobile devices within the first half of 2014, according to the survey, which was conducted online by technology research firm Vanson Bourne for Intershop, a Germany-based provider of e-commerce and mobile commerce technology. Intershop maintains a U.S. office in San Francisco.

The survey also finds that 94% of B2B companies say mobile commerce is important, though that includes 17% who say mobile commerce will only start to be significant sometime next year. Most of those, however, plan a significant investment. Of that 17%, or 68 companies, 44 of them say they plan to launch a mobile commerce site where their B2B customers will be able to view products, negotiate prices, make purchases and track their orders.

The survey lists the following percentages of companies by their existing sales and marketing channels:

• Web site (including those that are non-transactional), 98%
• Mobile site or app, 51%
• Paper catalog, 48%
• Telephone direct sales, 45%
• Physical stores, 45%
• B2B self-service online store, 45%

The survey also finds that 92% of companies actively market their products online, and that the other 8% plan to follow suit. Of those already selling their products online, 95% say they plan to boost their online revenue by an average of 27%. Among those companies, 23% say they expect to increase their online sales by 40% or more. The study didn’t clarify how soon they expect to achieve those increases.

For a free subscription to B2Bec News, click here.