What You Should Know About Mcommerce
Mobile commerce, often abbreviated as m-commerce, is a fashionable term these days. But mobile commerce is something more than just a trend – it is the future of online shopping and ecommerce businesses. The following facts and statistics prove that in order to stay one step ahead of your competition you should start targeting the group of mobile users and strengthen your mobile presence:
Mobile devices are everywhere
Luxury items in the 1980s and useful gadgets in the 90s – mobile phones are gaining popularity and they have never been as common as they are now. Research conducted by Pew Internet Project in January 2014 proved that mobile devices have become indispensable elements of out lives: 90% of US adults have a mobile phone and 58% of them have smartphones. 42% US adults own a tablet. All these users of smartphones and tablets are prospective customers of mobile commerce.
Smartphones are as popular as tablets
Different research studies show different preferences of users when it comes to the mcommerce platform: according to Internet Retailer research, tablets account for 55% of mobile commerce revenues compared to 45% from smartphones. However, a different research study provides contrary results: smartphones account for 53% of mcommerce sales, and tablets account for 47%.
To simplify it, we can safely assume that the mobile sales are split rather evenly between smartphones and tablets. How does it compare to desktop computers? They are still the most popular platform for e-commerce. However, online retailers have reported that the numbers of visits from mobile devices have been gradually growing, which in the future will most likely lead to the prevalence of mobile purchases over desktop sales.
23% growth in m-commerce was reported in Q1 2014
The mobile industry is one of the fastest developing industries in history. That applies to mobile commerce as well. In Q1 2014 US m-commerce reported a steady growth by 23% compared to the previous year. US mobile sales reached $7.3B in Q1 2014. 62% of US mobile sales in Q1 2014 came from smartphones. It is estimated that 19% of all online retail sales in 2014 will be generated by mobile users.
By 2018 m-commerce will account for 54% of e-commerce in United States
If the growth rate of the mobile industry is kept at the current level, it is predicted that mobile commerce could account for over 50% of e-commerce retail sales in United States in the near future. It means that mobile devices will not only serve as a useful alternative to desktop computers, but as the preferred platform for online purchases.
The changes are approaching fast and even if you still do not feel like you need to invest in Magento web development and mobile website design, this is going to change soon. Do not wait until it is too late. Instead – win your customers over by offering them fully functional mobile e-commerce solutions. Back up your mobile store with a mobile version of your company’s official website to provide your customers with detailed information about your offer, and allow them to learn more about your products and services.
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Marta Gromadzka is a writer and editor with a wide variety of experience, including writing for websites internationally and editing books on many different subjects and in a variety of formats.
