M-commerce: shopping via mobile devices the future of commerce?

The smartphone is for many of us a device that has become more important than the computer, as evidenced by the fact that more and more purchases are made using phones. This is very important information for the e-commerce industry, which should prepare itself for the changes that are currently taking place.

M-commerce: what it is?

M-commerce is nothing but e-commerce that takes place on mobile devices. This kind of sales is of course nothing new, but what is new is that it generates more and more conversions. Until recently, mobile’s share of e-commerce was high in terms of traffic, but when it came to sales, conversion rates were much lower. It is estimated that, depending on the industry, the average conversion rate on mobile devices is three or even four times worse than on computers. However, a lot is changing in this regard, especially during the pandemic, these indicators have improved significantly, making it necessary for retailers to take the non-computer shopping customers seriously.

What is the reason for the growing popularity of mobile shopping?

The advantages of mobile shopping are numerous, the most important of which include convenience and time savings. With a smartphone, you can shop from anywhere. Most of us have phones with access to the Internet, and therefore we can do our shopping using, for example. time we spend waiting in line for a doctor’s appointment, or riding the bus to work. Here we can see a clear advantage of shopping with a smartphone compared to shopping with a laptop: the former is practically always with us, it is currently for many of us an integral part of our lives – so why not use it to shop?

Best practices for m-commerce

At this point, we need to be clear that the cornerstone of good m-commerce practices is UX-compliant website design. Usability is the key to increasing conversion rates and growing sales, so be sure to include a convenient mobile menu and product search engine in a prominent location. But that’s not all – with m-commerce, a holistic approach is very important, which means that many aspects need to be taken care of.in. M-commerce is about the user having access to many different forms of payment and being able to choose the one that suits him best. Another important thing is a simple shopping path that does not require too much data, which often discourages the potential customer.

In order to encourage users to make purchases via smartphone, it is worth directing special promotions to those who decide to do so. As it was said before, because of the fact that we always have our phone with us we can decide for example. for a promotion that only lasts for one hour – a privilege for those who decide to buy immediately. If they want to go home and buy a product at a bargain price using a laptop, they may find that the promotion has expired, which would not be the case if they decided to buy immediately on the phone. If a customer manages to “hunt down” such an opportunity, there’s a good chance they will appreciate smartphone shopping and want to use it more often.

Summary

For retailers who want to keep their online stores competitive, it should become a necessity to invest in the development of the mobile channel, so that shopping using a smartphone or tablet is as easy and enjoyable as using a computer and laptop. This kind of action cannot be put off to the future: m-commerce is the present, which is why it is so important to act here and now, so as to acquire customers before the competition does!