Commerce has naturally progressed from a brick-and-mortar model to e-commerce and, more recently, into mobile commerce, a.k.a. m-commerce. M-commerce includes any monetary transaction using a mobile device or tablet, including banking, investing, peer-to-peer payments, donations and shopping for consumer goods and services. M-commerce is a subset of e-commerce and is rapidly outpacing all other kinds of commerce.
In a recent article posted by TechCrunch, it was reported that this year’s Cyber Monday broke records with U.S. shoppers racking up a total of $9.2 billion in online sales, with smartphone sales exceeding an all-time high of $3 billion. M-commerce is up 46%, accounting for one-third of all sales. This establishes its status as the main driver for the overall increase. As for browsing, smartphones drove 54% of all site visits, up 19% from just last year. By 2021, m-commerce sales are expected to account for 54% of all e-commerce sales (eMarketer).
M-commerce will continue to grow for several reasons:
· It’s convenient for buyers. It enables the world’s 5.1 billion unique mobile phone users to shop 24/7, 365 from wherever they are.
· In-app purchasing is increasing. Mobile users spent 18 billion hours shopping in apps in 2018, an increase of 45% from 2016. (App Annie)
· Product information is right at your fingertips. Shoppers can conveniently read reviews to better assist with buying decisions. One-third of decisions to purchase are influenced by viewing additional product information online.
· Shoppers can quickly compare prices and brands. In fact, 61% of U.S. consumers use their phones in stores to compare prices. (Statista)
· Personalized push notifications with coupons drive mobile purchases. The number of mobile coupon users worldwide will reach over 1 billion before 2020. (Juniper Research)
· Social media giants, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest launched "buy buttons" on their mobile platforms. Users can purchase goods based on influencers’ recommendations directly from these apps. It has introduced new and innovative advertising approaches. According to studies, 51% of millennials are more likely to buy products via social media. (B2C)
· Reward programs within apps incentivize purchases and brand loyalty. Engaging consumers in their preferred platform generates greater retention and repeat business.
· The convenience of mobile payments makes transactions nearly effortless. 61 million people in the U.S. will use mobile payments. (ABA)
· Voice search is impacting commerce. Mobile assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are becoming increasingly popular. Voice shopping is expected to grow to a level of $40 billion by 2022, from $2 billion at present. (B2C)
Retailers and marketers aren’t the only ones who’d be wise to keep on pace with the trend of m-commerce as it touches all industries. We use mobile for practically every aspect of our lives, both transactions and interactions, business and personal. Is your organization taking advantage of all mobile has to offer?
