As the world moves toward convenience, the topic of m-commerce succeeding e-commerce is all that much more relevant. But let’s slow down a bit. What do any of these words actually mean? E-commerce refers to a way of selling and purchasing goods. Where the transaction takes place electronically via the internet. Whereas Mobile Commerce—also known as m-commerce—is an extension of E-commerce, but now, the transaction happens via a mobile device.
Just a few decades ago there was no alternative to visiting a physical store. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, 57% of people prefer doing their shopping online.
This overwhelming fondness is naturally due to greater convenience. Thus, as the years go by, we shop online more and more. In fact, according to the PwC report:
– “The percentage of respondents who buy something online weekly or more frequently rose five percentage points year-over-year, to 31%, and the share of consumers who never shop online fell by three percentage points”.
So let’s zero in on what mobile commerce really is. In many ways, mobile commerce is the next logical step to the aforementioned greater convenience. Similar to what E-commerce used to be for physical stores before. Although, both have the same end goal, to facilitate a sale. M-commerce offers several advantages that its predecessor simply cannot.
Advantages
Mobility
Mobility is an obvious one. Whether it be a commute to work or an outing with friends, mobile technology enables one to make transactions anywhere with a touch of a button. Said mobility gives customers an altogether better experience and more purchasing options. Additionally, customers can get a wealth of information regardless of their current location, as long as they are connected to the internet. In other words, people are no longer limited by time or place in gaining access to e-commerce.
Rapid and More Varied Purchases
M-commerce offers a wide variety of fast payment options. Long gone are the days when one had to enter credit card information and shipping details on a new webshop. Today, one just has to download one of the many one-click checkout apps. And voila, one can skip using the cart altogether. All in all, it makes for a painless and fast experience. That is why countries around the world see steady growth when it comes to mobile payments.
Omnichannel
The omnichannel term is incredibly trendy among marketers and businesses alike. It refers to creating a seamless all-encompassing customer experience through the use of multiple communication channels. It’s about utilizing that aforementioned mobility of M-commerce to your advantage. Ensuring that your business is where your customers are, providing the services that they need at the moment they need them. There is a comprehensive list of big companies that make good use of this strategy created by HubSpot. A true omnichannel wouldn’t be possible without the technological advancements Mobile commerce has brought about. Technology like location tracking allows for individual content and custom recommendations, something that would be impossible to replicate in a limited desktop website version.
Push Notification
Push notifications are direct messages to customers through apps. Unlike emails that traditional E-commerce webshops have to resort to, those notifications are immediate and subtle. They typically announce new services or products, exclusive offers, rewards, and sales. While some of the customers may perceive these direct alerts as annoying, 52% of them still keep them switched on. Therefore, if used not invasively with carefully crafted messages it leads to increased engagement.
Bigger Bang for Your Buck
According to Google research, a whopping 67% say that when they visit a mobile-friendly site, they’re more likely to buy a site’s products or services. Furthermore, when they visited a mobile-friendly site, 74% of people say they’re more likely to return to that site in the future. It is no wonder that mobile has overtaken desktop in market share worldwide. This looks like a clear incentive to invest in m-commerce.
Generation Z
Continuing with the sound investment theme. By investing in Mobile Commerce, businesses are ensured to invest in the future. That is because Generation Z – people who are aged 16-24 now – according to an Annie App report:
“Gen Z spends 20% more time and engages with their most-used apps 30% more often than the rest of the population. For Gen Z, mobile is second nature and used across nearly all aspects of life — communication, socializing, shopping, banking, etc. Mobile is non-negotiable to any business hoping to attract this demographic.”
This is a lucrative segment already, but as time goes by it is going to become even more prominent.
Disadvantages
Few things in life don’t have drawbacks. M-commerce currently seems to be one of them. If any drawbacks with M-commerce, however, can be overcome when the technology matures. Nevertheless, here are some of the current disadvantages with mobile commerce.
Security
It might seem at first glance that mobile devices are safer. After all, they have an extra layer of protection with technologies like face ID, fingerprints, retina scans, etc. Yet statistics beg to differ. According to Mobile Security Report: – “The No. 1 threat to organizations is data exfiltration through mobile applications.” A chilling statistic indeed. Another reminder that nothing comes without a price.
Ad Fraud
It looks like ad fraud is more prevalent in the mobile commerce space. As reported by HuffPost as many as 60% of marketers still lack active fraud prevention in their mobile marketing. Therefore, businesses would do well to make sure that they are compliant with Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) standard. Before going with any mobile ad campaigns.
Cost
It goes without saying that developing an app could be a costly endeavor. Especially for smaller companies. It takes a lot of time and resources to build one. So make sure to check out our 5 Things You Must Know Before Developing Your Mobile App.
Privacy
As the company gains more and more access to customers’ data, it’s their responsibility to ensure that it is protected. Moreover, they should be transparent about what is being collected. Or risk ending up like Cambridge Analytica.
Conclusion
Mobile advantages already outweigh the disadvantages. This subset of e-commerce is here to stay. And it looks like thanks to the maturing of Generation Z it is poised to eventually succeed its predecessor. Make sure do get on the mobile bandwagon when there is still time, so if in doubt about how to bring your company into the mobile age, don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Wiredelta.
