Friday, May 25, 2012

MCommerce — The Smart Way

Very soon, mobile sales will outnumber the population. But it is the Smartphone sales that are increasingly in demand by businesses. Forrester Research has numbered the current percentage of mobile retailers to be seventy per cent and estimates increase by 39 per cent each year. Similar studies point toward the fast and upward growth of mobile commerce. It is these statistics that are the driving force for businesses to enter the mobile platform for B2B and B2C.
Mobile Commerce 
One aspect of such a study that has caught the attention is that sales are more likely to take place by consumers who use mobile and desktop platforms rather than just the desktop. Another advantage pointed out was the mobile’s convenient ease of access. A third advantage for using the mobile is because it saves time for the fast paced lifestyles of today’s consumers, who would otherwise have to spend hours at brick and mortar stores to make their selection. Most importantly, mobile commerce is cost effective.
This trend has pressed retailers and businesses in general into rethinking their mobile strategy in terms of trade and commerce. Attracting customers to online stores through Smartphone apps is already a regular practice within the industry, especially the B2B. So if the company has a store on the web, it is high time they open  one on the mobile and consider creating a shopping app for the consumer, when the market is fresh and competition is low.
Limiting options does not guarantee sales. Window shopping is still something customers want to do and will bide their time to wait for a better price if they have to. Although Android and iPhone offer ‘simple yet incredible shopping experience’ for the user, it’s no longer about the right platform but more about cross platform apps.
Mobile apps should be customized, simple and accessible of commerce is to be successful between business and consumers. Nordstrom has invested in several services for selling their products through mobile. A report published online recommends smarter ‘native applications’ that are applicable across all mobile platforms. This way the consumer is not dependent on any particular operating system.
Mobil ecommerce is not just about direct purchase, but the influencing behavior and practices of a consumer. The most commonly observed behavior is ‘comparison shopping’ which is someone standing at a brick and mortar store, simultaneously checking prices on the mobile for the same product. Others use mobile commerce apps for research and purchase directly and exclusively from the mobile platform.
This post originally appeared on Socialjitney.