The Growth of mCommerce – and How to Optimize a Website for Mobile

We are living in an age when people are migrating away from their desktops in favor of the freedom of a more mobile existence.

As a result of this steady yet seismic shift, mobile commerce (mCommerce) is no longer an optional marketing discipline for modern brands and businesses – in today’s world, it’s a necessity.

While mCommerce has by no means replaced or eclipsed eCommerce, it is certainly on the rise, becoming an evermore powerful force in the digital world. To put this in perspective, recent studies show that online shopping using a desktop or laptop has so far diminished by 15% in 2018, compared to smartphone-based transactions, which have doubled.

At present, over 25% of the world's population – that’s around 1.6 billion people – are using their mobile devices to purchase consumer services and products. Moreover, 20% of Millennials in the US alone admit to checking their smartphones at least 10 times in a single hour, an insight that is difficult to ignore.

The rise of mobile is undeniable and by optimizing your touchpoints, marketing communications and digital assets for the mobile experience, you will not only survive, but stand to thrive on tomorrow’s consumer battlefield.

“If you’re not using mobile marketing to attract new customers to your business, don’t worry - your competitors are already using it and are getting those customers instead.” Wendy Clark, DDB, North America

Key mCommerce Stats

To provide a more panoramic view of the undeniable rise and importance of mCommerce, here are the statistics you need to know:

• To date, 86% of UK digital shoppers have made a purchase using a smartphone.

• Mobile web adoption is growing approximately eight times faster than web adoption did in the early 1990s and 2000s.

• Studies suggest that 60% of mobile shoppers use their smartphones in store, and an additional 50% use their smartphones while on their way to a store.

• 53% of mobile consumers will abandon a website if they have to wait three seconds for a page to load.

• 71% of mobile users expect a website to load as quickly as it would on a desktop computer.

• 30% of mobile shoppers will abandon a purchase if a site or application is not correctly optimized for mobile.

• 88% of consumers agree that owning a mobile device equipped with real-time information makes them more spontaneous as shoppers and, as a result, more open to discovering new things.

mCommerce Trends

To add to the above, here are some key trends in mCommerce today:

• Automation: The rise and continual evolution of marketing automation has bestowed modern brands with the power to boost customer satisfaction levels and increase productivity. This year, and beyond, we can expect to see an increase in marketing automation adoption for mCommerce initiatives to improve business efficiencies and enhance the consumer shopping experience. In addition to this, more brands will use social media influencers to promote their products and services to a more mobile-centric audience.

• Personalization: As you will no doubt understand, the contemporary consumer craves a personal experience with a brand or business, with content and service tailored to their individual needs and pain points. As mCommerce continues to become all the more essential, more tools and methods will be implemented to create a more personalized user experience. These developments will include more focus on push notifications and geolocation marketing to grab consumer attention and gather valuable data, in addition to mobile touchpoints in brick-and-mortar stores to create mobile-led omni-channel marketing experiences.

• Single-click payments: In the modern world, people favor purchases that consume as little time and exert as little effort as possible. That said, in mCommerce, the single click payment is more prevalent than ever. In 1997, eCommerce giant Amazon was granted the One-Click patent - a model that has proved hugely successful, catalyzing the company’s ongoing commercial success. Last year, this patent expired, meaning that the concept and technology are open to all brands and businesses looking to streamline their shopping experiences and buyer journeys. To compete now and long into the future, implementing a version of the single-click payment of your mobile site will be pivotal to success.

Ways to Optimize Your Assets for Mobile

It’s clear that mobile is becoming an increasingly critical part of our everyday existence, and by enhancing your mCommerce initiatives alongside your eCommerce offerings, you will be able to boost brand awareness and expand your audience significantly.

To help you in your quest for mobile domination, here are some actionable ways you can optimize your website for the mobile experience.

Adaptable Content

By its very nature, mobile is one of the most streamlined and convenient means of shopping for many consumers. That said, making sure your mobile content is accessible and adaptable is vital.

Developing easy-to-navigate interfaces, a choice of payment models and customized content will help you optimize your website and achieve mCommerce success. Moreover, your mobile content should be optimized in a way that it is digestible for all available formats, not just iOS and Android.

With mobile, the substance of your copy is only as powerful as the user experience it delivers. For instance, a recent study discovered that 67% of mobile users are more likely to purchase a product or service when the site is mobile-friendly. If your load times are slow, your content isn’t adaptable, and your webpages aren’t optimized for mobile screens regarding aesthetics and functionality, this will prove detrimental to your reputation.

Geo-based Tagging

Geo-based tagging is an effective means of delivering targeted, personalized messages on time and location-specific deals or promotions via mobile.

In fact, a study from Google has shown that nearly half of women would share information on their location if given a $5 store credit, while 83% would optin for a $25 store credit.

This approach will not only help in encouraging subscriptions and sharing promotions, but will also be invaluable for creating the kind of tailored, adaptable, mobile-centric, location-based content that will spark engagement and result in conversions.

Optimized Emails

While a website remains the HQ or nerve center of a business, email remains a relevant and powerful digital marketing channel.

Around 53% of email campaigns are accessed on a mobile device, so ensuring your marketing emails are optimized for such devices is essential.

Focusing on short, punchy, actionable subject lines, imagery that sits on screen correctly and keeping your copy clear and concise are all ways of enhancing the success of your marketing emails via mobile.

A Cutting-Edge Approach

Already, the mobile market has become saturated, meaning that to cut through the noise, standing out should be a top priority concerning your mCommerce or mobile optimization strategy.

In addition to following best practices, developing an eye-catching logo, focusing on offering and sharing your unique selling points in a digestible format and taking measures to provide a flawless user experience (UX) design based on forward-thinking innovations will earn mCommerce success.

ould conduct extensive industry research, gather competitor and consumer intelligence through social listening, create customer experience maps and work in a collaborative cross-departmental capacity to create mobile functionality and applications which will engage your target mobile prospects with cutting-edge functionality. This will boost your brand authority in a big way.

For inspiration, study Hitlist’s new travel agent in your pocket mobile application and IKEA Place, an augmented reality-driven mobile innovation developed for a multidimensional shopping experience.

“The mobile device has become our communications hub, our diary, our entertainment portal, our primary source of media consumption, our wallet and our gateway to real-time information tailored to our needs. The revolution is now!” Peter Rojas, Gizmodo

The age of mobile is upon us, and while eCommerce is still a potent force, those who leverage the power of mCommerce today will reap the rewards tomorrow. A failure to optimize your efforts for mobile could result in disastrous consequences.

Key Takeaways:

• Consumers are migrating away from their desktops in favor of the freedom of a more mobile existence.
• eCommerce is still essential, but mCommerce is on the rise, growing at a rate that is twice as fast.
• In today’s world, more than 25% of the world’s population are using their mobile devices to purchase consumer services and products.
• Mobile users expect a flawless level of UX and site performance when browsing and shopping.
• Personalization, automation and shopping cart optimization (for example, the single-click payment) are three key areas of focus for this year and beyond.