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.
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.
