What do you need to know about m-commerce?
Online trade has already become one of the biggest trends in how we consume the internet. Today, consumers want to have quick and easy access to products and services, and that’s what m-commerce is all about. Mobile commerce is just a typical online trade done via mobile devices – smartphones and tablets. What do you need to know about it?
M-commerce statistics
Estimations are almost 4 billion people worldwide use the internet to buy products, which is a 10% increase compared to last year. When you take a look at mobile commerce sales as a percentage of all e-commerce sales worldwide, you see a consequent growth:
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/806336/mobile-retail-commerce-share-worldwide/
M-commerce vs. e-commerce
In practice, there is just one major difference between m-commerce and e-commerce. M-commerce is all about mobile devices, while e-commerce focuses mostly on desktop devices, i.e., personal computers. There are some trends within m-commerce you have to be aware of.
THE OMNICHANNEL MODEL
If you run an online store, you’ve surely heard this term many times. Shortly put, the omnichannel model is based on providing users with the same high-quality service regardless of the channel they choose. In other words, whether a customer enters your store via your website or mobile app, they should have access to the same offer, prices, and features. Moreover, communication in all these channels should be integrated to build one comprehensive UX. Without m-commerce, there can be no omnichannel communication.
GOOGLE REQUIREMENTS
In July 2019, Google introduced their mobile-first indexing policy, meaning it’s your mobile website (not the desktop one) that’s being indexed in the search engine. In other words, your mobile page has to be well-designed and fully friendly for mobile devices (so-called RWD design) to rank high on Google. This element also played a significant role in the mobile commerce evolution.
QUICK AND EASY SERVICE VIA A MOBILE APP
M-commerce has to be, above all, quick and easy. You don’t need to open your laptop to look for products and services; you can do the same via your smartphone. Online stores even facilitate accessing their offers via mobile apps that can be directly downloaded to the device (so-called native apps) or accessed via the internet browser (PWAs).
Mobile apps give your customers access to:
- The full store’s offer: That’s including an internal search engine, a barcode scanning feature, visual/voice search, augmented reality, and many more solutions.
- Placing an order: The whole purchasing process should be accessible without the need to switch to a different device.
- Payments: There are several online payment solutions that are 100% mobile-friendly, including Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Of course, standard payments using wire transfers and debit/credit cards are also indispensable.
- The loyalty program: Many mobile apps encourage users to place more orders by joining a loyalty program, allowing them to collect points and exchange them for benefits, such as gifts and discounts.
How to succeed with a mobile store: Five elements
There are a few elements you ought to keep in mind in order to reach and satisfy mobile users. Make sure everything on this checklist is visible in your online strategy!
- Mobile-friendly, functional website: Even if you don’t have a mobile app, you need a mobile-friendly website. Use this free Google tool to check your store’s site.
- Mobile-friendly solutions: Once your customer enters your app/website, they should be able to perform any action they would on a computer, from browsing products to placing an order.
- Mobile payments: The more payments you have in your store, the better. Ensure you have at least one payment gate that works with mobile devices. Additionally, the subscription model, as well as BNPL (buy now, pay later) are also elements to consider.
- Additional solutions to discover products in your offer: Here, you can consider adding augmented reality, a chatbot or a direct chat with customer service, and calculators/configurators that enable your customers to get exactly the product they want.
- Promote your online store: Use available marketing channels to inform all of your current and potential customers that your store is also available in the m-commerce version.
Case study: Neonet
We want to show you a good example of an e-commerce business that’s fully friendly to mobile users. Neonet is an online store operating in the electronics and household appliances industry. We helped them create a progressive web app (PWA) that allows Neonet users to browse the website efficiently and place orders on desktop and mobile devices.
Make your store mobile-friendly with us!
At Global4Net, we fully understand the importance of m-commerce. That’s why every store we develop or upgrade for our clients is fully mobile-friendly (and so is Magento – our main e-commerce platform). Read more about your first steps in the m-commerce world, and drop us a line to find out more!
