Over the past decade or so, mobile commerce (or
Nowadays,
US mobile spending alone is poised to increase from $128.4 billion in 2019 to $418.9 billion by the end of 2024. As mobile shoppers take up more and more online commerce space, not having a separate
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the
Scroll (or, you know, swipe) to get started.
In this post:
What Is M-Commerce?
Mobile phone presence is now a large part of consumers’ lives. From tweeting about their lunch to
But
The pandemic has also acted as a catalyst for older generations. They’ve started to warm up to newer, online selling technologies; as they became worried about the safety of
Let’s expand on some of these ideas:
Pros and Cons of M-Commerce
First, let’s find out what makes mobile commerce so great.
The benefits of m-commerce
Here’s why your business can benefit from mobile commerce.
Anywhere, anytime
Constant mobile accessibility means consumers can make purchases at any time, anywhere. If
Accessibility works both ways. Businesses can also reach customers in
According to AirShip, right after the pandemic hit, direct open rates for mobile app push notifications reached their highest average rate in more than four years. Additionally, nearly
There are different types of push notifications. For example, push notifications about running discounts or special events. There are also
Easily localized
Wait wait, there’s even more! Push notification marketing can take you even further: some brands send
Here’s a cheeky
If you’d like to reach your customers no matter where they are, your best bet is to expand by going omnichannel. This translates to the full coordination of products available via your store or online. Same stock, same seamless experience.
Learn more: What it Really Means to Sell Everywhere With Ecwid
Tip: make sure your marketing efforts are coordinated across multiple platforms. For example, across Google Ads, social media, and your SEO strategy. This consistency can drive your online marketing success by increasing brand recognition.
Diverse payment options
One of the main reasons people like to shop from their phones is the range of payment options available. The convenience of not even having to take out their wallet is, according to many
Ensure people have
Limitations of m-commerce
Keep in mind the following when getting started with
The distraction factor
With today’s high
So, how do you leverage this? Our simple answer: metrics.
Using metrics will ensure you’re on track with your marketing goals, and will also help you identify where you can improve. This comes especially in handy with regards to today’s competitive digital marketing landscape.
You can use visual reporting platforms and attractive marketing KPI dashboards to monitor your goals.
You can apply this strategy to the example of notifications by tracking the times at which they are sent and most opened. That can help you find the ideal window to engage with your audiences.
Comparison shopping
Consumers today are highly savvy. They don’t just sign up for the first pretty okay deal they see. They use comparison shopping to get the best bang for their buck.
Do some comparison shopping yourself, especially when you’re about to launch a campaign. What are your competitors selling? What are they charging for rival goods? How can you beat them? Analyze, then
Technology woes
Sometimes apps aren’t supported by all
When creating your mobile presence, hire experienced professionals who can deploy a system as simple or complex systems as you need, and are able to fix bugs on the fly.
How to Get Started With M-Commerce
It requires its own strategy and often, a fresh mindset. No matter which stage you’re currently at with your mobile presence, you can apply the following tips to your business:
- Keep up with trends (e.g. create an attractive filter through your brand name and share it on Snapchat and Instagram.)
- Monitor what your competitors are doing locally
- Invest in security.
Define Your M-Commerce Strategy
Define your
In the first step, define what you want to achieve through
For example, a mattress company’s
- Increase mobile sales by 20% within the next quarter by offering customers exclusive mobile promotions and discounts. For instance, AmeriSleep aims to boost mobile sales by 15% through mobile promotions and discounts to encourage online mattress purchases.
- Leverage mobile SEO strategies to expand customer reach and target a broader audience. You can implement targeted strategies to reach potential customers in specific geographical areas. For instance, you can attract new customers who are searching mattress store near me from their mobile devices in a specific locality.
- Improve the overall user experience on the mobile platform by introducing innovative features like
VR-based virtual mattress trials and personalized recommendations. Remember, interactive elements within the mobile app or website can increase user engagement.
Identify Your Target Audience
For mobile commerce, identify your target audience and understand their mobile usage, preferences, patterns, and behaviors.
To truly nail your mobile commerce game, it’s all about getting into the minds and habits of your target audience:
- Start by sketching out who they
are—what makes them tick, their lifestyles, interests, and what drives their decisions. - Dive into their mobile world: what devices do they swear by, which apps keep them hooked, and how do they use their phones or tablets?
- Then, it’s time to decode their shopping
behavior—what makes them click buy, their favorite payment methods, and how they react to discounts. - Don’t forget to suss out their tech comfort level; some are all about the latest gadgets while others stick to what they know.
- Keep evolving with them; trends change, so your strategies need to keep up.
This holistic understanding crafts tailored mobile commerce strategies that really hit the spot, leading to more engagement, conversions, and happier customers overall.
You can can begin by:
- Conducting thorough demographic and psychographic research to paint a vivid picture of their target audience. E.g. delving into age groups, geographical locations, lifestyles, preferences, and behaviors related to mobile usage.
- Observing customer behavior within their own digital platforms or apps can be invaluable, e.g. by tracking metrics like
click-through rates, time spent on specific pages, preferred functionalities, or abandoned cart rates on mobile devices. - Staying updated with industry trends and technological advancements.
- Encouraging direct feedback through surveys, social media interactions, or customer service channels helps in understanding customer needs and expectations regarding mobile experiences.
Pay attention to mobile security
Investing in mobile security is not always at the top of an entrepreneur’s list. According to Verizon’s 2020 Mobile Security Index, 43 percent of organizations sacrificed mobile security in the past year.
But security is an invisible and necessary element to successful online businesses, especially with
Optimize your m-commerce site or app
An
The following tips work well for either solution.
Refresh your UX/UI
User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) go
There’s nothing more frustrating than a confusing mobile experience. Users usually pick mobile shopping and browsing because of its inherent convenience. Giving them a bad site experience is more likely to steer them away from your store than their phones. And it’s not just about making everything smaller. Your customer’s journey through your site needs to be simple and clean, with
A few things you can implement right away:
- Make sure your font is readable on mobile devices
- Make sure the image sizes and quality are optimized for mobile
- Create an attractive CTA button
- Provide
swipe-features for a better experience
Make it fast
Mobile users are some of the most impatient people out there. The good news is, Google can
Some say, for every one second you shave off your load time, you can make hundreds or thousands of additional conversions. This makes sense. After all, the faster you can guide your customers through the sales funnel, the more money you can make.
Stay away from Flash, large images, and redundant scripts. Optimize your mobile experience to be clean and lean. Regularly check load times yourself. If your interface is far from perfect, check out this instructional guide to improving your store loading speed.
Make it
A fast site or app is a good signal for Google to rank you in its searches. But there’s more to mobile SEO than that.
Google’s
By following the previously mentioned optimization strategies (better UI, faster load times), you are already doing your best to rank higher. Add some keyword research and
To see how your site/app fares in Google’s
Implement a user-friendly design
Let’s expand on the importance of a good UI/UX design. Often, it’s the deciding factor in a user’s first impression of your store. Don’t make it their last.
First thing’s first: create a
For example, having the hamburger icon open the navigation menu is expected behavior. Aim to develop and test a landing page that draws people in.
Scrolling or swiping with one hand should be effortless. If the user is stopped with a
Keep it simple. This is especially important for forms. They are boring to fill out, so keep the questions clear and the layout clean. One question per page type tools (such as Typeform) can make your life even easier.
There’s one more important factor here: something that so many
Last, but not least, keep your design as clean as possible. What does this mean on mobile devices? Try using icons instead of text, or omitting unnecessary images. It’s completely fine if your mobile site or app does not look exactly like its desktop sibling.
Integrate Secure Mobile Payments
You should integrate secure payment gateways and offer diverse payment options to enhance the convenience of mobile transactions and boost your app engagement in the App Store/Google Play Store, driving more conversions. This is known as ASO (app store optimization). This could include:
- Incorporate trusted payment gateways: Implement secure payment gateways with advanced encryption to guarantee the safety of financial transactions through the mobile platform.
- Enable credit/debit card payments: Facilitate easy payments for clients by accepting major credit and debit cards. You should allow your customers to seamlessly manage and renew their subscriptions (if any) directly through the mobile app.
- Integrate mobile wallets: Cater to users who prefer the convenience of mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. It helps you ensure clients a smooth and secure payment experience using these digital payment methods.
- Facilitate subscription billing: Implement recurring billing options for
subscription-based services. You should offer clients the flexibility to choose billing cycles that align with their needs and preferences. - Offer
multi-currency support: If you want to attract a global clientele, provide support for multiple currencies. Moreover, allow clients from different regions to make payments in their local currency without concerns about currency conversion.
Develop a Mobile Marketing Strategy
You need a comprehensive mobile marketing strategy, such as SMS marketing, push notifications, and
For instance, an online store can implement the following plan as part of their mobile marketing strategy:
SMS marketing to offer exclusive discounts: Send SMS messages to subscribers with exclusive discounts on premium or advanced service offerings you have. This strategy aims to boost engagement and conversions among users interested in upgrading their skills or capabilities.
All these strategies can help keep users engaged and help them make informed decisions. Motivate your target audience to explore and use the app’s full potential.
Connect with social marketing
Nowadays, certain types of social media posts only work well on mobile, such as stories and live updates. Creation and scheduling of these types of posts can be done with a social media tool.
To succeed on any mobile platform, you need to keep your posts
Make sure to always use correct image sizes. A social media post that has part of its image cut off looks amateurish. Right after publishing mobile web pages, check them out on your phone to make sure they look the same as those shared on Facebook.
Many online stores thrive on social media by sharing
Try different post types, such as selfies, videos, or product photos, and monitor the success of each.
Provide Contactless Payment Options
As society goes cashless, mobile users are evolving towards being cardless.
That means that mobile payment can mean two things in the world of
Firstly, the ability to accept payments on a smartphone or tablet via NFC or an attachable card reader. This can be used in physical stores using a handheld checkout terminal.
Secondly, accepting payment from mobile wallets, or mobile money transfers that eliminate the need for checks and invoices.
Mobile payment solutions rose in popularity at an accelerated rate after the start of
Their mobile payment feature does not need to be downloaded to a mobile device. Instead, customers simply visit LeeValley.com when they enter the physical store, click on the barcode icon, select their store location and start shopping.
When you complete a user’s journey with a mobile payment, you may be thinking
This
Ensure Compliance and Security
Your
SSL encryption for secure transactions
For every eCommerce business, secure online transactions are necessary. You should implement Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for secure online transactions and payments with your customers. It will secure data transmitted between users and the platform during transactions. This ensures the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information, such as personal data and payment details.
GDPR compliance for user privacy
If your online store targets customers in a specific location, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) standards are absolutely key to know about. You should provide transparent privacy policies and obtain user consent for data processing. It will allow user control over their personal information.
Secure payment gateways
Integrate trusted and PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant payment gateways to safeguard customers’ financial information during transactions. For every business, this involves implementing secure processing protocols and advanced encryption.
Regular security audit
Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential weaknesses in your platform. With this proactive approach, you can prevent security breaches and ensure ongoing compliance with evolving regulations.
Remember, robust security measures are necessary to protect platforms and their users. In this way, you can build customer trust and contribute to a positive and secure shopping experience.
In Conclusion
Start your journey into
Mobile users have predominantly higher expectations when it comes to
Don’t believe us? Start your