According to the latest IMRG e-Retail Sales Index mobile commerce continued to soar in September, and the upward trend in the conversion of browsers to buyers is evidence that consumer behaviour is being transformed by mobile devices. Forrester expects the European mobile buying population to rise from 7.6 million in 2011 to more than 79 million in 2017. Therefore, it’s a certainty that a mCommerce strategy will become increasingly important for retailers, Omid Rezvani, Director of Mobile Solutions at eCommera, explains.
As well as purchasing mobile devices in ever-growing numbers, consumers are using them to access the Internet and are increasingly downloading apps to use on their devices. In the United States, the average smartphone and tablet user spends more than 1.5 hours every day using mobile apps, while, in total, nearly 40 billion apps have now been downloaded from Apple’s App Store and the Android Market.
Customers are progressing from offline to mobile so quickly due to easy access to new devices. There used to be a clear difference between online and offline customer behaviour, however these channels have now blurred. Instead of either purchasing goods and services in a store or purchasing them online, customers are making the transition to ubiquitous retail. They are researching goods and services and making purchases using online, in-store and on-the-move touch points via a wide variety of fixed and mobile devices. In this climate, mobile has become an integral part of retail – and retailers and brand owners have to embrace mCommerce or they will be left behind.
It can be tempting to add mobile capability piecemeal, however retailers should begin by ensuring that their strategy is built around the needs of the customer and offers a seamless experience. This also ensures that the brand is communicated consistently across all channels.
How to implement a mCommerce strategy
Before they embark on a mCommerce journey, retailers and brand owners need to know where they are travelling to. They also need to carefully plan which steps they will take along the way and establish marker points for reviewing their progress. They also need to be prepared to adapt and change their mCommerce strategy as required and, above all, they need to keep going.
Mobile commerce can be challenging and complicated, as the mCommerce market and mobile technology are evolving at a dramatic pace and there is no single proven model for success.
To enter the mCommerce sector, retailers and brand owners will need the infrastructure and staff to execute a multi-channel commerce strategy. They will need an app that can be used by customers on an extensive range of mobile devices and platforms: from iPhones and iPads to Android tablets and smartphones. They’ll also need to ensure the app is integrated with back-end commerce systems and services and is continually updated, so that it’s compatible with new versions of mobile devices and operating system updates.
In addition, retailers and brand owners will need to be able to capture, understand and extract actionable insights from the mass of data generated by mCommerce and will need a strategy that will enable them to interact better with consumers and offer a seamless customer experience across multiple channels.
Some retailers will be able to address and manage all of these tasks internally. However, many will seek to work with an external partner that has the expertise and experience to deliver a fully managed mobile commerce service.
What to look for in a mCommerce partner
In looking for a mCommerce partner to work with, retailers and brand owners should choose a company that:
- Understands the retail market and can help design a mCommerce strategy and plan for execution
- Offers rapid time-to-market and has the ability to continually innovate the solution in line with updates to the strategy and changes to technology
- Offers the ability to work across multiple mobile platforms and devices
- Has the systems integration expertise to knit together the back-end systems that support the overall customer experience
- Delivers data insights that will help build future growth through the mobile channel.
In summary, you need to act with conviction as competitors will be employing a mCommerce strategy as you read this article. Your customers are as ready as they ever will be to embrace your mobile app.
