Online shopping is nothing new, but has buying using a smartphone finally found its groove?
When it comes to shopping online, many people are now turning primarily – or even exclusively – to mobile commerce, making their purchases using a smartphone or tablet.
That said, is it just convenient, or does it truly provide a better experience than using a laptop or desktop?
Over the holidays, for the first time, mobile commerce surpassed shopping over laptops and desktops. People are getting more comfortable using smaller screens to get the job done. After all the devices are pretty much always in our hands – or are at least within arm’s reach – and virtually anything that can be accessed online using a laptop can also be accessed on one of those smaller screens.
That said, just because it can be accessed, it doesn’t mean that it provides the identical experience. What many brands are now investigating is whether they are able to provide the same experience with their small screen experience as they do on larger ones.
Most consumers would agree that mobile commerce and shopping on a laptop is quite a different experience.
Overall, what many people find is that the main benefit that smaller screens offer is indeed the convenience. However, when it comes to being able to see images clearly, obtain the information quickly and learn everything a consumer wants to learn about a product or service before making a purchase, laptops and desktops still win.
Still, that might not be the case for very long. According to a recent publication by eMarketer, “Retailers need to adopt a mobile-first approach.” It’s no longer just a matter of having a mobile commerce presence. That’s just a given. Marketing experts now recommend that brands place substantially more focus on enhancing the experience they provide to shoppers using smaller screens.
“As the balance shifts in the e-commerce market, retailers need to put mobile front and center of their strategies,” said the eMarketer report. “They should leverage data-driven insights to offer personalized, convenient shopping experiences — and prioritize in-store mobile integration — to cater to the fast-evolving needs of mobile-savvy consumers.”
