How Mobile Devices will Continue to Affect Businesses in the Future

Image Source: cdn.moveoapps.com In today’s digital driven culture, people are becoming smarter and more tech-savvy when it comes to the use of a mobile application. Mobile commerce sites (also known as a M-Commerce website) have become the unambiguous focal point of this trend. People in general love the fact that they can purchase items and shop remotely on their cellular-devices. And due to the rise in consumer demand more and more businesses are investing in this segment… But why? What does this direction towards improved user innovation mean? M-Commerce Trend According to Pew Research Center, 72% of adults in the United States own a smartphone. This contributes to around $104.05 billion U.S. mobile commerce sales in 2015, up 38.7% from 2014, but this is just speaking for the Unites States. Global regions are also experiencing a huge growth as well. The combined sales of 14 Asian retailers ranked in the 2016 Mobile 500, grew over 249.3%. This movement towards a smartphone driven approach is not a fluke. More companies are becoming aware of technological innovations that enhance cell and tablet application usage and because of this, are gearing their businesses towards enhancing consumer experiences. How M-Commerce is Helpful for Businesses In today’s modern age, people are becoming more comfortable with technology than ever before, thus inevitably increasing the amount of mobile shoppers. This said, the amount of business opportunities has also taken a large increase. According to internetretailer.com, the combined monthly mobile visits of all 378 U.S. Mobile 500 merchants grew 68.3% to 3.03 billion in 2015.  People love shopping with their cell phones, because it’s easy and convenient! There’s no hassle like sitting at a computer or worrying about finding Wi-Fi for your laptop. With a smartphone you can shop anytime and anywhere. They also function as an intermediate tool for businesses and customers. Smartphones allow consumers to look at reviews before purchasing items, find local businesses through map navigation applications, and call businesses by simply clicking a button. According to The Huffington Post, 76% of smartphone users rely on their cellular device to find a store to make a local purchase at. It’s apparent just how big of a role mobile plays and how it provides companies with the opportunity to keep their consumers captivated in purchasing decisions.                                                                       Image Source: static.pexels.com How to Increase Business Sales with Smartphones Businesses and consumers are beginning to realize that e-commerce is changing and the numbers are there to prove it. In 2016, U.S. mobile device sales are expected to be 33% of total retail e-commerce sales. This number is expected to increase to 37% by the end of 2017. Investing in this movement of increased smartphone sales, is almost necessary for companies that want to remain relevant in today’s business market. Putting money into the development of cell applications can prove to be a beneficial step in the right direction. Internetretailer.com reports 180 U.S. merchants in the 2016 Mobile 500 have one or more mobile application, and the combined sales from those apps increased 44% to $40.58 billion in 2015. These applications act as a medium to connect with consumers on an intimate level and therefore cause sales to boom. M-commerce also offers businesses the opportunity to engage with their consumers through innovation. This innovation can range anywhere from location specific deals, ease of payment through credit cards or PayPal, to the simplicity of navigation through the application. As early as 2012, a study from Google proved that mobile friendly sites are a key influencer in purchasing choices for consumers. They concluded that 67% of mobile users, said they are more likely to buy a product from mobile-friendly site and 50% said that even if they prefer a specific business, they will buy from them less often if the website isn’t mobile-friendly. This only stresses how important customer guidance is with cellular device integration. With a good looking user interface and consumer targeted optimization, M-commerce sales and overall production definitely increase business value. There’s no way around it, m-commerce has been and will continue to be the future of online shopping. Mobile application development is taking lead as the most important aspect of this movement and can separate a middle of the road retailer, to an industry leader. John D. Rockefeller Jr. said: “The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well.” Businesses should feel the need strive towards innovation. The key to m-commerce is to be as connected with your consumers, as they are with themselves.