The Rise of Mobile Commerce

eCommerce continues to advance at full speed. Over the years, our buying habits haven’t just switched from bricks-and-mortar to digital, but even how we shop online is transforming with mobile commerce becoming ever more popular. Allowing consumers to shop on-the-go, mobile is fast, secure and convenient.

Even if you’re not a mobile shopper, your customers most likely will be. In 2018, 52 percent of global web traffic was via mobile phones. And, in 2019 alone, 59 percent of mobile commerce was fuelled by smartphones with this figure predicted to surge to 71 percent by 2023. Even Google made it clear that the future is mobile with their mobile-first indexing algorithm roll out in July. With significant growth and revenue opportunities anticipated over the coming years, can you really afford to ignore your mobile offering?

How can we help you?

When it comes to mobile, there are plenty of things to consider. But it’s not as daunting as you may think. We got the scoop on all things mobile from our team.

Mobile-first design

Mobile commerce is a hot industry topic – there’s a good chance you’re even reading this blog post on a mobile! But still, many brands are designing their websites for desktop before pigeonholing this experience onto a mobile device. The result? A pretty poor user experience. Brands should be creating a website for the devices people are most frequently using while ensuring it performs well on desktop too.

By analysing the types of products bought, the user journey to conversion and the interactions a customer has on different devices, you can create an optimised user experience, regardless of the device. For example, a user browsing your site on a mobile while commuting on a train may require PWA features to maintain a consistent experience on a poor internet connection. If your marketing strategy is focused on targeting commuters in London on their way to and from work with emails highlighting specific deals, these individuals become a potential opportunity for conversion. A mobile-first design approach can help create these adaptable experiences.

Mobile-first design does what it says on the tin. It involves the sketching, prototyping and designing for mobile devices before scaling up to larger screens, ensuring the optimum user experience is delivered on each device. Using this approach forces you to focus on only the most necessary elements of the website which can then be enhanced as you build up to desktop.

Progressive Web Applications (PWAs)

Everyone (including us) is getting excited about PWAs and it’s easy to see why. Combining the very best of mobile apps and web development, PWAs are creating websites that look, feel and act like an app, successfully redefining the mobile experience in the process. Some of the most digitally advanced companies, including Twitter, are already using them to create a second to none user experience. Delivering the convenience and usability of a mobile app, merged with the searchability and flexibility of a browser, PWAs create a fast and frictionless shopping journey. Coined in 2015 by Google engineer, Alex, he described PWAs, stating:

These apps aren’t packaged and deployed through stores, they’re just websites that took all the right vitamins…”

Alex Russell, Senior Software Engineer, Google  

PWAs are a level up from responsive design and are set to shake up the mobile world to meet the changing expectations of consumers who demand a progressive online shopping experience. The latest update to Magento’s PWA Studio 4.0.0 contains new build tools and notable improvements across the board.

Third-party integrations

Delivering essential functionality is key to improving the user experience on your mobile store. Whatever you may need, whether it’s a customer review system, customised shopping experiences, a one-step checkout system, flexible payment options or intelligent site search, we have integrations that can help. As partners to many of the world’s leading technology platforms including Nosto, Yotpo, Klarna and Klevu, we can integrate mobile-specific solutions to create a slick onsite experience.

Mobile Commerce strategy

As mobile continues evolving, it can be challenging to create a strategy that will optimise your site, support your objectives and allow you to thrive. Harnessing the right data, a strategy for mobile can be built that considers your customers’ needs and pain points, drawing recommendations to improve your offering. A factor that often pops up during this process is the checkout system.

While the gap between conversions on mobile and desktop is slowly closing, implementing a mobile-friendly checkout can help increase your mobile conversion rates. Navigation is naturally easier on a bigger screen and shoppers are still finding the mobile shopping journey more complex. Integrations with payment gateways such as PayPal, Klarna or Adyen provide a mobile optimised checkout experience. A guest checkout is also an effective option so users can avoid the process of registering for an account if they prefer, while address verification also helps to speed the process along.

Mobile has been key in demonstrating that the internet is no longer intrinsically linked to traditional computers. These advancements have opened the door to a wider internet experience such as voice-based and headless commerce. As mobile devices continue to evolve beyond phones to more wearable tech such as watches, mobile commerce will need to expand to accommodate even more contexts, situations and user experiences.

Mobile commerce is simply becoming too immense to ignore. It has become the bridge between digital and brick-and-mortar stores. By augmenting in-store experiences with innovations such as mobile payments, click and collect and beacon technology, mobile commerce may be the key to extending the lifespan of traditional retail stores. Staying competitive and progressing with the times is imperative to online success and being mobile-friendly no longer cuts it. If you’re looking to grow your revenue through mobile or simply broaden your online offering, we can help. Using a market-leading platform such as Magento, your online system will be supported by some of the most innovative mobile features to date. Let us help you redefine your shopping experience, contact us today to find out more.