About a decade ago, only a few people do shopping on their phones. However a recent Business Insider study predicts mobile commerce will account for $284 billion by 2020. That’s a speedy transformation from obscurity to a prime method of transaction. But, this is just the nature of technology in today’s retail world. It also wasn’t long ago that companies were skeptical about ecommerce. We all know what’s happening to those brands that haven’t pivoted to at least some form of online presence. Businesses need to be thinking ahead if they want to keep up with constantly changing consumer preferences. This is why ecommerce needs to be mobile–friendly, now.
More Mobile Shoppers than Ever
As already stated, it’s expected that m–commerce will continue sucking up a larger amount of the total pool of ecommerce revenue. Most indicators seem to support this theory. Already more than half of online shopping time is done on a mobile device as opposed to a computer. However, the vast majority of sales are still completed on desktops. Does this mean the importance of m–commerce is overstated? Absolutely not! There are a few distinct reasons why these consumers are choosing to complete purchases on computers despite majority are still searching thru phones.
One of the most critical hindrances right now is phone design. Most smartphones are still too small to give customers a simple, easy checkout. There’s also a psychological hangover—meaning people feel safer buying things on their computer than their phone. While these aspects are currently holding back mobile conversions, better phones and increasing consumer confidence are alleviating them. It’s also important to remember that even if the conversions aren’t all happening on mobile yet, not addressing this market ignores a massive number of shoppers.
Site Design Needs to Be Responsive
You have a website. Shouldn’t it just show up on a smartphone just as it would on a desktop? The site will probably load, but it might be completely unusable unless your site is designed to be mobile responsive. This means your site automatically changes its interface depending on the device.
Mobile screens are vertical and rely upon touch, while computer screens are horizontal and require clicks. To accommodate these differences, mobile responsive sites condense e–stores. Always do a cloud ecommerce platform comparison before deciding on your provider to ensure your ecommerce store builder values mobile responsiveness. Otherwise, you will be losing a lot of customers.
In addition to being better for consumers, you will hurt your SEO by not having a mobile–friendly e–store. Google has updated their search engine to prefer sites that offer mobile responsiveness. In other words, your site will get pushed farther down in organic search results if it doesn’t adhere to this guideline.
Integrate with Social Media
What’s one of the most popular ways for people to spend time on their phones? Scrolling through social media platforms. If you want your brand to proliferate in the modern era, social media is essential. Many of these sites are now integrating with cloud ecommerce platforms. It’s now easier than ever for people to convert sales, as it can happen directly from the social media apps. Failing to take advantage of this trend will cost companies severely over the long term.
Smartphones and other m–devices are the future. Shopping is most certainly included in this statement. If you run an ecommerce store, it’s imperative that you take the time to make your site mobile–friendly.
