3 Trends Shaping Mobile Commerce

A new study finds 32% of all online purchases are made over mobile devices.

Businesses in a variety of industries are looking for solutions to help them segue into the mobile-dominated world.

Mobile technology developments have steadily been increasing over the past few years, and several small businesses are making mobile commerce their number one priority. Small businesses are implementing various tactics to transition into the mobile world.

1. Small Business Mobile Adoption Increasing

According to Drew Lewis, who runs marketing and management for Leaf, “With the ever-growing adoption of PayPal, Square and other big players, we are beginning to see mobile commerce alternatives find their way into the hands of small businesses.”

Other marketing experts and leaders in the industry spoke up about the current mobile commerce trends and how it will shape the landscape and the things companies are doing to stay in the game. One main trend was the rapid rate in which small businesses were increasing the adoption of mobile technology. This presents a huge opportunity for SMBs to connect with their customers where they are 24/7.

2. Optimized POS Experiences

James Van Arsdale III, director of user experience for commerce solutions provider WebLinc, said that a company’s ability to optimize the customer experience across all channels will drive its m-commerce (mobile commerce) to success, no matter whether they are dealing with emails, social media, websites, or something else entirely.

Major retail companies have begun to adapt to the new age of mobile commerce, by introducing point-of-sale devices (POS) in their stores, which often correspond with apps and make transactions simpler for customers. Many are even using tablets and smart phones in their stores to take orders, ring up purchase, accept payments, scan member cards and more.

3. Branded Mobile Apps

Another way small businesses are adapting to mobile commerce is through branded mobile apps. These apps drive customer engagement and sales, but do have a downside if developed incorrectly – often the cost outweighs the benefits when it comes to conversion rates. As mobile apps continue to rapidly improve and decline in cost to develop from using services like Bizness Apps — more and more small businesses will look to create branded mobile app offerings for customers to quickly make purchases from their devices.

In addition, mobile analytics firm Flurry measured overall time spent on U.S. iOS and Android devices to find that app usage now takes up 86% of mobile time spent. That’s up from an 80% share in 2013. Growing app usage comes at the expense of the mobile Web, which now makes up just 14% of mobile time spent. In total, the average U.S. mobile user spent 2 hours and 42 minutes per day on their device.

Mobile commerce is quickly changing the way customers interact with every business of every size. In today’s world not going mobile is simply not an option. Small businesses should always adapt and change to their customers needs, which now require mobile optimized experiences more than ever.

3 Trends Shaping Mobile Commerce