When it comes to marketing, business owners need to be fast in adjusting their strategies to fit the continuous advancement in technologies.
Today, nearly everyone has a mobile phone or another smart mobile device with them at all times.
As the trend of doing everything over a mobile device grows, including tasks such as shopping and billing, so does the need for business owners to look toward improving their presence online.
Understanding M-Commerce
M-commerce is basically the act of buying and selling as well as any form of money transactions done on a mobile device. Between 2017 and 2018, the number of shoppers using mobile phones has gone up by 27%. In fact, 70% of searches on a mobile device lead to the user taking action within one hour. Meanwhile, desktop users generally take one month to reach this same percentage.
It’s pretty clear that m-commerce is the new direction businesses should be considering. But how exactly is m-commerce different from e-commerce? They are technically the same thing, except that m-commerce is done via mobile devices.
Why M-Commerce Works?
Who leaves their home without a phone these days? Statistics show that 46% of users check their phone immediately when they wake up and continue to use it during breakfast.
You have a unique opportunity to reach your potential customers from the moment they wake up. Imagine someone who has downloaded your online store app receives a personalized notification, and it being the first thing she sees. It’s a fantastic business opportunity.
Another reason why m-commerce works is that it allows you to collect a lot more detailed information about your clients. You can gather information about their interests, products they like, and their behavior all by viewing your products through your app. This gives you an exclusive opportunity to provide them with a unique and personal experience.
Also, when a consumer uses a mobile app to make a purchase, the transaction is much faster through integrated payments. She doesn’t go through the added purchase steps of traditional websites, which doesn’t give her as many opportunities to rethink her purchase.
Benefits and Drawbacks
As with everything else, there are benefits and drawbacks. Don’t overlook the importance of each, as they will develop in the near future. M-commerce is becoming more and more popular, so keeping an eye on the continuous changes is essential.
Benefits
- Reach your customers globally. By 2021, the number of mobile phone users is expected to be more than 3.8 billion. Imagine having the opportunity to reach anyone with a mobile device in their hands, ready to shop online.
- You will collect more data from your customers through the purchase process because traditional shopping doesn’t provide you all of this added information. The information collected isn’t only about their actions for a better and more personal experience. You can also improve sales through data-driven marketing based on their interest in ads, changes to the app, and measure their effectiveness.
- Business owners can scale everything concerning their company. They can adjust marketing accordingly based on user interest and much more.
- Timing your contact with consumers exactly when you are confident with your products will increase their interest in seeing what you have to offer. Programmatic advertising and geo-tracking allow brands to connect with potential customers at the perfect time.
- M-commerce gives customers an overall better experience. Statistics show that 61% of users prefer purchasing from mobile apps that use the collected information to customize what they see based on their preferences and location.
- Improved communication with customers. You will have the unique opportunity to speak to each customer directly. You won’t have to wait for them to open an email or read a social media post. You can send notifications based on their preferences directly to their phones.
- The overall speed of using m-commerce is drastically faster than with any traditional type of purchase. No added steps, no waiting time, just open the app, choose from the specially catered products for them based on their interests, and make a purchase. They have very little time to reconsider their purchasing decision.
Drawbacks
- It is competitive out there. Yes, it’s fantastic that you have so many potential customers that you can now reach, but you aren’t the only one trying to do so. The competition is grueling, and you must stay on top of the latest updates, trends, and technologies to get ahead of the game.
- M-commerce requires a lot of added privacy measures. You will be collecting a lot more information from your customers, and this requires a lot more effort to protect it on your side. Researching partners and knowing their terms is the first step, but hiring a privacy professional to ensure you protect your customers is essential.
- If your mobile app is an extension of your brick and mortar store, you may end up doing it disfavor by encouraging customers to use the app instead of visiting the store. You need to play your cards right and continue to encourage visitors to your physical business by making e-commerce an extension rather than a replacement of your store.
- Many business owners are not prepared to deal with the potential risk of fraud. The first step is making sure that their partners are compliant with MRC and TAG. This proves that the companies they are working with are taking measures to prevent fraudulent actions and ads.
Although the drawbacks may seem overwhelming, they are in no way reason to discourage you. You may need to put more effort into ensuring security and beating the competition to the consumer, but it is doable.
Final Thoughts
M-commerce is no longer just the future. It is here and now. Any business that wants to stay in the race for online customers needs to consider optimizing its marketing campaign to include m-commerce.
The best way to achieve this is through a mobile app that makes shopping faster, easier, and more convenient, and keep track of the latest changes and advances in mobile technology.
