maximize your site for m commerceThe fastest growing area of commerce today is a portion of e-commerce that occurs on mobile devices called mobile commerce. According to a 2016 Mobile 500 report, mobile commerce has reached 30% of overall e-commerce and is expected to continue to be a growing portion of overall e-commerce eventually becoming its biggest area of sales. M-commcerce sales will reach 123 billion USD by 2020.

The reasons for mobile commerce’s fast growth look to become the driving factors going forward and are based around a changing set of consumer behaviors and buying habits. The average m-commerce customer requires engaging and value-added experiences, and with the explosion of available mobile options, consumers are becoming more discerning, and demanding. The factors shaping the market are:

The prevalence of cheaper smartphones: Smartphone mobile commerce sales in the US was up 50% in 2016 to almost $80 billion USD, driven by larger screens, smoother buying experiences, better mobile search and context-driven discovery. By 2020, smartphones will capture $123.44 billion of all retail m-commerce outlays in the US, a growth rate of 18.3%. “Tablets are still growing but at a lesser extent than we’ve seen in the past,” said Marissa Tarleton, CMO of North America at digital coupon marketplace RetailMeNot. “As we partner with our retailers, we’re optimizing for smartphones.” Even so, tablet commerce sales should continue to grow by double digits over the next four years and surpass $100 billion in 2020.

The explosion of Millennials: Millennials are quickly becoming the largest retail buying group in the US and they are spurring the growth of m-commerce. 57% of millennial shoppers turn to mobile to research products, compare prices, and make their final purchase. Millennials like things a particular way, and to succeed with them m-commerce companies need to leverage non-traditional sales approaches to deliver a Millennial focused experience.

Omni-Channel shoppers in the spotlight: Omni-channel is a multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide the customer with a seamless and consistent shopping experience whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone or in a bricks and mortar store. Omni-channel customers look for tools and approaches that allow them to synchronize the many on-line channels with off-line channels when appropriate. An example would be a shopper researching a product and ordering it on-line, then picking it up at a retail outlet. There has been a sharp rise in these types of shoppers and as a result m-commerce companies are responding aggressively with approaches and benefits that cater to them.

Changing Role of CRM: Customer Relationship Management has always been paramount when it comes to sales and today its role is even more important. Today’s customer wants to be heard and feel appreciated for their purchases. This means consistent contact with them on their terms and in meaningful ways. Quick and thorough responses to complaints head the list. Companies need to be aware of what experiences customers are having with their products from their purchasing to their use and in the case of any problems, to respond quickly before anything negative goes viral. This requires a heightened type of relationship with consumers where the company positions itself as expert and friend.

Companies in the m-commerce space need to be aware of the current marketplace realities and adjust their tactics accordingly. As they develop their on-line and mobile assets, they need to remember that hiring the right development will create wins. By teaming up with an agile, end-to-end web and app development team, they can begin to build the necessary bridges for customer engagement. If you are searching for a company to do m-commerce apps and web design Las Vegas based Supergeeks Net Design is a perfect choice.