There is no denying the fact that the M-commerce industry is getting bigger. Though the size of our screens might be shrinking, these tiny gadgets are getting smarter with every passing day.
So big that by the end of year 2017, the revenue generated from the retail purchases made through mobile averaged a peak of $2.29 trillion. Though the figure is quite staggering, it shouldn’t come as a surprise as the industry continues to experience exponential growth. The usage of mobile phones has been intertwined into our lives. Nearly a decade ago, one couldn’t predict how crucial this medium would become for our shopping experiences.
The hovering effect mobiles have on our lives cannot be ignored. Every day we spend nearly 2/3 of our time on our mobiles phones, from sharing updates on social media to making online transactions. Though many people regard mobile as a medium that promotes global connectivity, the reason why M-commerce industry is thriving is quite unimaginable.
Research conducted by comScore shows that M-commerce is the biggest revenue generator for retail purchases.
That is not all. According to a study by BigCommerce, the sales of 50,000 retail stores on their portal experienced a constant growth of 30% only from mobile users in year 2015-16. Just half a decade ago, mobile purchases only made up 10% of the total sales. Presently, they make up 1/3 of the BigCommerce’s total revenue.
BigCommerce has been quite adaptive to the mobile usage wave and introduced a variety of features such as customizable web themes and one-page checkout.
In addition to this, according to the findings by Business Insider the share of revenue generated through mobile purchasing will continue an upward stride, gaining a whopping 45% share of total US E-commerce’s market.
The findings highlight a stark reality. They are in fact reflective of how the modern purchaser is depending on mobile to complete his transaction. This in turn means that your customers are preferring mobiles to make their purchases and it is your duty to provide them the best shopping experience through their preferred medium.
But at the core of M-commerce industry lies in understanding the needs of your consumers who shop through mobiles. What could be the needs of your mobile-preferring clients? Here is a look at the trending issues your potential client might face in a M-commerce advanced world we live in today.
#1- Intelligent Chatbots & Online Messengers
Most conventional businessmen will question the credibility of CS chatbots in M-commerce with a lot of scrutiny. They might view the notion as more of naivety rather than a tried-and-tested and reliable solution. But the truth is far away from it with market leaders like H&M and Starbucks already relying on these methods and boasting a customer base that is extremely satisfied with them.
Moreover, today’s consumer likes to stay connected to his brand via social media platforms and prefer messengers over emails and telephonic conversations. A survey conducted by eMarketer shows that nearly 55% of online purchasers rely on social media messenger apps to communicate with the businesses they interact with as compared to other communication methods such as online messengers etc. This gives retailers and businessmen to tap on the potential of smart bots which provide:
- Real-time connectivity. Ability to respond to all queries and offer solutions
- Understand what the customer is looking for and then personalize the experience altogether based on his preferences
- Allow interaction without requiring the customer to install supportive apps
Bots have a great potential. However, they have a long way to go. This doesn’t mean that customers would take long to adapt to them. Amazon’s Echo is a perfect example of AI platform that seamlessly connects customers with businesses, catering for all their needs.
#2 - Augmented Reality In Light Of Modern Purchasing Methods
Though, augmented reality is in its infancy stages, it has a potential to transform the M-commerce industry altogether. Sharing some common roots with the bots, augmented reality apps have a shining future, redefining and personalizing the shopping experience to another level.
Despite the need for more research on augmented reality apps so that their potential can be fully tapped on, we can still have a glimpse of what this powerful tool is capable of by looking at the few examples around us. Houzz AR app that helps customers decide about the furniture they want to purchase by letting them virtually put up furniture in spaces to see whether it fits or not. Sephora’s Virtual Artist app allows customers to view the effect of makeup before actually trying it on to assist customers in their purchasing process.
A latest report by Retail Perceptions suggests that the constant increase in the demand of AR is due to the demand from customers looking for an enriched shopping experience as well as the retailers who try to exceed their competitors by offering services that are out of this world.
- 40% of customers are ready to pay more for their products, if they have the chance to view have an AR experience prior to the purchase.
- More than 60% consumers opt to shop from brands that integrate AR into shopping process.
- 71% shoppers are likely to exhibit greater loyalty to brands, if they presented with AR options during their purchasing journey.
#3 - Single Click Payments Are Meant To Reign
Until September 2017, Amazon ruled supreme in the world of single click payments owning to its patent. However, with the patent finally invalid, Google and Apple are ready to enter the market of one-click solutions.
By offering a single-click purchasing process, Amazon has been able to derive immense success. The riddance from entering information over and over again helped thousands of customers finalize the purchases they left in cart in order to avoid the lengthy check-out process.
Single-click initiatives have a bright future in e-commerce. This is particularly true for m-commerce, where users would be able to complete impulsive buying without having to worry about entering long versions of information about themselves.
Lesser barriers between a buyer and product ensures lesser dropouts during the purchasing process. This is extremely helpful for mobile merchants who have to deal with a large number of abandoned carts.
#4 – Automation Helps Greatly
E-commerce and automation have always worked closely, just like hand and glove. In the present times, merchants are presented with endless opportunities that they can use by autopilot selling.
There are many tools that can help increase with sales such as abandoned carts re-engagement tools, loyalty program tools and so forth.
Social media and Email marketing are great opportunities for businessmen since an average user spends about 5 hours on mobile. Therefore, email marketing is an important mobile channel and its importance cannot be ignored.
#5 – The Era Of Apps
There is no denying the fact that smartphones have taken over the conventional desktops, making them a part of our history. Smartphones serve multipurpose; they are either used to participate on social media, messaging or shopping through an app.
This gives e-commerce a huge opportunity to track and authenticate buyers with the help of app notifications. A shopping experience that offers an app is out-of-the ordinary and guarantees increased sales.
According to a study by BigCommerce, purchases made through desktop are 50% higher than those made through mobiles. Merchants can only gain more profits if they provide seamless shopping experiences for both mobile and desktop buyers. For this, they need to consider adopting an omni-channel presence.
Though it’s a time when store-front apps are meant to reign, anything that makes purchasing easy for customers is a plus.
Summing It Up
The crux of m-commerce lies in making the shopping experience as easy and personalized as possible. It’s like guiding your customers from point A to point B without them even getting to know that they are being led into a particular direction.
It all comes down to simple payment procedure, no back and forth through web-pages and prompt Customer Service is all what your mobile shoppers are looking for. Provide these features to your customers and they’ll stick with you for long in the future that will be dominated by m-shoppers.
