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Consumer behavior is undoubtedly a driving force in the evolving world of mobile and 2016
will likely prove to be another game changing year.
As consumers become increasingly reliant on their mobile phones in their everyday life, retailers
will be looking to increase their visibility and find more effective ways to drive traffic and
increase purchases on their sites. Here are a couple consumer trends on the horizon that may
very well impact how mCommerce plays out on a phone near you:
1) SOCIAL COMMERCE WILL REMAIN HOT, BUT WILL BUY BUTTONS
DELIVER?
There is a very strong connection between social media and mobile. In the realm of retail, social
media is a significant force. In 2014, the top 500 retailers earned $3.3 billion from social
shopping and there’s no slowing down on that front as social shoppers are spending more money
online than ever before. Furthermore, social-driven retail sales and referral traffic are increasing
at a faster rate than any other online channels.
With the launch of buy buttons on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, 2015 was a big
year for social commerce. Though Pinterest, for example has 60 million Buyable Pins, buy
buttons have yet to gain wide traction on any social platform, turning in a performance over the
holidays. However, given the importance of social in terms of both traffic and revenue to m-
commerce sites, social buy buttons – and whether they gain a foothold with consumers or not –
will be an important trend to watch in the coming year.
2) CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS WILL DRIVE RETAILERS TO FOCUS ON
MOBILE MOMENTS
Consumers rely on the their smartphones during countless moments throughout the day. In
fact, 91% use their smartphones while completing another task. And as they become more
reliant on their mobile devices, consumers expect to get exactly what they need in the moment
they need it.
This mobile moments mindset presents retailers with unprecedented opportunities to engage their
customers on mobile. Whether consumers are pulling out their smartphones to conduct a product
search over breakfast, using the store locator feature to swing by a retail location after work or
pulling up a scanable rewards card at the register – mobile moments enable brands to provide
their customers exactly what they need in their immediate contexts.
One challenge for many retailers is that popular approaches for adapting desktop experiences to
mobile, such as responsive web design, fall short when it comes to delivering contextual
experiences. To keep up with their customers’ needs during their mobile moments, retailers
which are relying on responsive design to deliver their mobile experiences will need to solve for
the limitations of responsive – for example by applying mobile experience optimization (MEO)
on top of their responsive sites.
But regardless of the technology they use, in 2016 we will see more retailers focusing on
creating mobile experiences that deliver exactly what their customers need in their immediate
contexts.
Haresh has more than 15 years of experience in marketing, product, and strategy for world-class
enterprise brands. He is responsible for extending Moovweb’s thought leadership and driving overall
marketing and communications strategy.