Holidays highlight the value of mobile shopping
The holidays have long been a very important time of year for retailers. During the holiday season, consumers are much more likely to spend money so that they can purchase gifts for their loved ones. In the past, this involved going to physical stores and, in many cases, waiting in long lines just to purchase a single product. Holiday shopping is also quite a chaotic time, so beyond being a significant time investment, consumers must compete with the dangers that exist in navigating through large crowds of short-tempered people that can be quite unruly if adequately frustrated.
The advent of technology has changed the way that people shop for products, especially during the holidays. While people are still quite prone to shop at physical stores during the holidays, they are becoming to turn to online retail as a suitable alternative. As such, mobile commerce has begun growing in popularity. Mobile commerce represents a more convenient way to shop for many people. Using a mobile device, consumers can avoid the large crowds and much of the chaos that is associated with holiday shopping. The problem, however, is that mobile shopping is not well supported among retailers, which may mean that businesses are losing out on a big opportunity.
Retailers could be missing an opportunity
While retailers have become enamored with mobile commerce, few have adequate mobile support. As such, those wishing to shop online often encounter slow load times for mobile websites that can make their experience frustrating. Slow load times and week servers can make it impossible for consumers to spend money while shopping from a mobile device. This may be a significant problem for many retailers as mobile commerce become more important to consumers.
Mobile shopping is not a million-dollar enterprise as its value ranges well into the billions. According to a recent report from comScore, mobile sales in the U.S. alone on Cyber Monday reached more than $2 billion. IHS Global Insight, an economic research firm, issued a report suggesting that online sales through the whole of the 2013 holiday season will reach more than $81 billion, 12% higher than what online sales were during the same period of 2012. Retailers that are not putting serious effort into their mobile initiatives could be missing out on a very lucrative opportunity.
