If you’re on this page, odds are you are also among those curious individuals who’d like to find out more about Mcommerce and its future, and how your business can reap its benefits.
Well, you have landed in the right place because, in this article, we’ll be talking about everything you need to know about this emerging trend.
Here’s a gist of what we’ll cover:
- Why is Mcommerce Important?
- What is Mobile Commerce?
- Advantages and Limitations of Mobile Commerce
- Benefits of Leveraging Mcommerce
- Two Common Pitfalls of Mcommerce
- Mobile-First – Will It Be the Future of Development for Businesses?
- What Does the Future of Mobile Commerce Look Like?
Why is Mcommerce Important?
In 2017, the sales of Mobile Commerce accounted for 34.5% of the total sales witnessed by the eCommerce industry, and since then, this number has been increasing at an alarming pace!
It is also expected that the sales of Mcommerce are likely to reach 54% by the end of 2021.
This means, by now, your business should have made its online store easily accessible on various smartphones. However, if you haven’t done that already, then you’re probably missing out on plenty of opportunities.
But rather than getting ahead of ourselves, we should first understand what this Mcommerce trend is all about.
What is Mobile Commerce?
Image source: blog.qatestlab.com
Also known as Mcommerce or m-commerce, Mobile Commerce is basically any kind of transaction that’s done through a smartphone.
It can also be defined as an advanced version of eCommerce, which allows individuals to purchase and sell products from anywhere and at any time, all through a tablet or mobile device.
Mobile commerce has not only helped the existing industries to expand their horizon but also triggered several new services such as:
- Money transfer through mobile phones
- E-boarding passes and tickets
- Purchase and delivery of digital content
- Mobile/Internet banking
- In-application and zero-contact payments
- Loyalty cards, mobile marketing, and online coupons
- Location-based services
Advantages and Limitations of Mobile Commerce
There are limitations to all forms of conducting business, but that doesn’t mean you should look at it as a huge obstacle. Advantages can outnumber all the limitations and you’ve always got ways to deal with the pitfalls particularly when you’re aware of them.
So let’s begin with the advantages first!
Benefits of Leveraging Mcommerce
- Improved Customer Experience
The eCommerce industry has already made online shopping very easy and convenient. It offers customers complete access to:
- An extensive range of products and services
- A competitive price range
- Easy shopping through just a few clicks
With Mcommerce, customers can still reap these benefits but they no longer have to sit in front of their laptop or desktop. As long as you have a smartphone in hand, you can shop from anywhere and at any time.
- Exponential Growth Rate
Studies suggest that the sales of eCommerce on a global level are expected to touch $4.058tn by the end of 2020, which represents 15% of the overall retail sales.
It is expected that the percentage of Mcommerce sales will also increase at a faster rate, given that more and more online retail store owners are receiving over 50% of the total customer traffic through mobile phones.
- Complete Omnichannel Experience
In order for your business to offer an omnichannel experience to the customers, you need to sell your products on both offline and online platforms – probably also on various online mediums like Facebook, Amazon, eBay, etc.
In simple words, for you to be omnichannel, your business must be present wherever your consumers are and make it convenient for them to purchase your products.
Two Common Pitfalls of Mcommerce
- Frequent Optimization
We won’t consider this as much of a disadvantage because it’s important for you to keep changing your perspective when it comes to developing and managing your online business.
You need to keep tabs on all the latest technological advancements and the modifications happening in the optimization best practices. This way, you can make sure your website, at least on smartphones, provides an exemplary user experience that’s both quick and easy to use.
- Customers Can Easily Compare Prices
A conventional method to compare products was to take a look at its prices ahead of time and scanning a couple of advertisements and catalogs, before actually visiting the physical store. Additionally, you could also go from one store to another and get to know the prices of different products.
However, Mcommerce has simplified the entire process. Since the majority of people are using smartphones, they’re able to quickly compare the prices from multiple stores and select the one that provides them more value.
Mobile-First – Will It Be the Future of Development for Businesses?
The term ‘Mobile-First’ was invented by Eric Schmidt in the year 2004. At that time, the basic concept behind it was transformation, and since then, it has been the same for both designing and development.
At first, although it could be a little difficult (in terms of development), the mobile-first approach will surely be ‘THE’ strategy for every business in the coming years!
What Does the Future of Mobile Commerce Look Like?
The horizon of mobile commerce looks very bright – more like, sunglasses-required bright!
Currently, a lot of budding technologies are still in their initial phases. But they’ll surely transform the users’ shopping experience once they’re in trend. Here are some of the trends:
- Image Search
Backed by AI (Artificial Intelligence), image search will soon transform the entire shopping experience while making things a whole lot easier.
As several AR (Augmented Reality) applications are being introduced in the market along with in-built image search functions, customers can now look for specific parts of a photograph with complete ease.
- VR (Virtual Reality) Stores
The debate of making Virtual Reality headsets a part of the Mcommerce industry is still up in the air!
However, soon these headsets might become every customer’s companion as the experience offered by Virtual Reality stores are expected to be futuristic, transformative, and something you’ve never seen before.
- Voice Search/Shopping
With AI assistants like Alexa and Siri increasing in popularity, it’s expected that voice search/shopping will soon become the ‘next big thing’.
As compared to previous years, many individuals are using voice search and the percentage has reached to over 40% in the US alone. While this is an impressive number, it’s constantly increasing by each passing day.
Final Thoughts
Being an organization that offers a comprehensive mobile solution to multiple Magento stores, we’re waiting to see how this Mobile Commerce trend revolutionizes the entire business realm!
Of course, the future of retail business won’t be purely Mcommerce since a customer’s shopping experience doesn’t really start and end on their smartphone.
But if it’s anything, the future looks more like ‘Omnichannel Experience’ meaning customers may start their shopping journey from a laptop/desktop, but end it on a mobile device.
