Nowadays you can’t leave your home without seeing a smartphone somewhere. If one’s not in your own hand, you can bet that you’ll see one as you’re out and about; maybe with the person walking in front of you, the toddler sitting next to you, even with your Uber driver.
The fact is that we’re using mobile devices with such voracity that it seems impossible that smartphones were reserved for the elite a mere 10 years ago. As a matter of fact, mobile usage actually exceeded desktop usage a couple of years ago, and that gap has only widened since.
From Ecommerce to Mcommerce
The rise of mobile has been anything but subtle. Like a stone creating ripples on a pond, mobile usage affects everything it touches. For instance, the impact it’s had on business activities has prompted many enterprises to embark on mobile application development in hopes of snagging extra customers. To be exact, 80% of eCommerce retailers with at least $50 million in annual sales either currently offer or plan to offer mCommerce (mobile commerce) soon.
But what actually is mCommerce? As you might’ve guessed, it’s a subgroup of eCommerce that involves the use of smartphones and tablets (wireless handheld devices) for online shopping instead of desktops and laptops. That being said, why should enterprises adopt a mobile strategy revolving around mCommerce? Well, here are 5 reasons why.
1: More People Are on Mobile Devices Than Ever Before
Let’s use an analogy to illustrate this point. Imagine that you operate a food truck and have the option of parking in front of a busy construction site or next to a random road. Where would you park? If you’re like most people, you’d park in front of the construction site because there are more opportunities to make money there than next to a random road. The same goes for mobile versus normal eCommerce. The latter offers more business opportunities, so why not go with it?
2: Mobile-Friendly is Good for All, Mobile-Unfriendly is Bad for Business
We already covered that more and more people are using mobile devices than ever before. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of eCommerce retailers that haven’t caught up with the times and still have unoptimized, mobile-unfriendly sites. Okay, but why is this bad? For many reasons, actually.
First and foremost, mobile-unfriendliness can hurt your bottom line and help your competition. No matter what you sell, if someone on a mobile device is on your site and can’t navigate properly, you can bet they’re clicking out and going to your competition. Even if they weren’t planning on making a purchase at that moment, the fact that they couldn’t properly view your products made them go somewhere else. And whenever they do get around to making the purchase, who do you think they’re going to buy from?
Second but still as important, not being optimized for mobile will negatively affect your normal site in search engine rankings. Google made it clear a while ago that they’re using mobile sites for indexing purposes. So if you’re not on mobile and your competition is they’ll benefit and rise through Google’s SERPs while you plummet into nonexistence.
3: Mobile Sales Are on the Rise
In 2014, mCommerce made up 11.6% of the $303 billion US eCommerce total, and estimates by Business Insider suggest that by 2020 it will reach $284 billion, or 45% of the total online market. Similar to more people flocking to mobile, if a metaphorical bigger slice of the pie is available through mobile devices, why wouldn’t you try and get your share? And as we’ll soon see, buying through mobile is so easy that all you need is a fingerprint.
4: Mobile Wallets and the Ease of Purchasing
My last mobile purchase consisted of tapping a button that read, “Finalize Purchase” and then pressing my thumb to my iPhone’s home button. That simple. Mobile wallets are making science fiction a reality. By storing card information on our phones, we can seamlessly pay for anything from a jacket online to a burger on the street. This purchasing option is not only easy, but also optimal for those who don’t have the time to complete the checkout by painstakingly typing a bunch of numbers.
5: Mobile Helps Traditional Brick and Mortar Businesses Too
Being online is already a huge step up from sticking to a brick and mortar store because you’re opening up a secondary revenue channel. By virtue being online, you can bypass normal store hours and sell at any time. Mobile takes things to the next level and allows for purchases anytime, anywhere.
This alternative revenue source is helpful for enterprises of any size because it allows for sales without incurring the extra costs associated with having an in-person sales representative. In other words, you’re serving your audience on two separate fronts that combine for a multi-platform strategy.
Now or Later, the Choice is Yours
Apart from the vast mobile preference that most people show, there are also mobile-only demographics whose only means of accessing the Internet is through their phones. The fact of the matter is that if you’re not selling through mobile now, you will either have to start soon or end up closing shop.
If you’re still not convinced, take everything we’ve covered into consideration. More and more people are on mobile devices today than ever before, and with increased usage and the ease of shopping through a phone comes increased sales. Not only that, but mobile will also help your physical location (if you have one) and doing otherwise will actually help your competition.
Make the right choice and optimize your site, get in touch with mobile application development specialists, and of course, best of luck.
