According to this article by Statista, Mobile commerce(popularly known as M-commerce) sales have reached $2.2 trillion this year and now make up 60% of all e-commerce sales worldwide. This is expected to increase to 62% by 2027, which is equivalent to $3.4 trillion in sales!
You would think the rise of Mobile commerce would have been obvious to everyone with our mobile devices being the most convenient tools to utilise for our daily activities. You wouldn't be completely right though, you'll understand why this is in a while as you read further in this article.
What is Mobile commerce?
Now you might have wondered -like I did at first- what difference this has with the commonly known E-commerce. Aren't they both just about shopping online?
Well, no.
Although there are a few complications that make Mobile commerce different from E-commerce as you'll be seeing below, the main difference between them comes with their object of use.
While Mobile commerce is strictly done through the use of mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, E-commerce (which is short for Electronic commerce) encompasses all electronic devices ranging from smartphones and tablets to laptops and computers.
In recent years, we've experienced a surge in the use of E-commerce and Mobile commerce in particular. This is a result of worldwide technological advancements, which have and will continue to develop by the day, and most especially the rise in the use of mobile devices like smartphones.
As a major part of the population has resorted to E-commerce as a more convenient way to run their business and carry out business transactions, the general population has also turned to E-commerce for the buying and selling of goods as a better alternative to physical shopping activities.
As good as this new development sounds on the surface level there are quite a few challenges individuals and businesses face concerning Electronic and Mobile commerce. Some of which include;
Businesses face more competition as they now have to compete on a global scale rather than a local one
There's a need for the business owner or the person in charge of running the business to be familiar with technology, as anything else would lead to little to no sales and a stagnant business
There is a waiting period(whether long or short) to be observed when a product is bought online which otherwise does not exist when shopping manually
Online businesses face a huge risk of getting attacked by cybercriminals who can do things like stealing the business' identity to commit fraud or hacking the business site to gain access to customer's private data and many more.
The advantages of Electronic and Mobile commerce over standard physical trading are ;
Convenience
It Reduces cost of starting the business and running it
Opens the business up to a larger range of customers
Both M and E-commerce share the variuos pros and cons listed above in common, this isn't always the case. There are still a few differences between them, some of which are;
| Basis of comparison | E-commerce | M-commerce |
| Devices used | Laptops and computers are used | Mobile phones and tablets are used |
| Portability, ease of access, and convenience | This makes use of laptops and computers which are not as easy to carry around as mobile devices | Mobile devices are easy to use and carry around |
| Resources | E-commerce sites are less refined and there is generally less emphasis and thought put into user care and experience. | There are more resources available to ensure ease in M-commerce than in e-commerce (an example of this are the multiple apps available that make it easier to make payments electronically with the use of mobile devices) |
| Notifications and interaction | Fewer features are available on E-commerce sites to ensure interactions with users, and there is little to no interaction between sites and users once they leave the site. | M-commerce sites and apps have been made so that users can be notified when there's a new feature or something that the user might be interested in which makes it easier for users to interact with said sites and apps |
The Rise of M-commerce
As stated above, M-commerce is quickly becoming the preferred mode of electronic banking as the whole world is leaning toward digital services and mobile devices are the preferred and most common form of said electronic devices.
For this reason along with the others stated above, most businesses are also advised to provide resources to cater for this shift in the business world to ensure that they keep up with the trends in the business field and stay recent and up-to-date.
Businesses that fail to take into account this huge economical shift in the use of technology are sure to fall behind other businesses that do and are bound to lose a huge amount of sales due to this reason. All businesses are thus advised to seriously consider the losses that will be incurred by refusing to stay up-to-date with the times and are advised to make amends regarding this.
Preparing for the Rise of M-Commerce
Here are a few ways in which businesses can improve their website so as to make it easier for M-commerce users,
Firstly, if your business is new to the online market the best way to get started is to build a business site where potential customers can be directed to when in need of your services.
Otherwise, for those already in the E-commerce stage but are looking to optimise for M-commerce as well, you can work on:
Making your site responsive - this means ensuring that your site is not only desktop but mobile friendly too, and is usable and accessible on various ranges of electronic devices
Making your site easy to understand and navigate- ensure that your site is not too complicated and a new user can find it easy to use and get started as doing otherwise will cause users to be frustrated, confused and hencelose their interest in your business altogether.
Conclusion
In this article, you've learnt about both E-commerce and M-commerce and have learnt their definitions, importance, similarities and differences and the implications of not adopting them in businesses.
You've also gained some tips on how to get started with setting up your business to excel in these two fields. We wish you all the best in scaling up your business.
Courtesy - Retailoop
written by -Iqma