Top 7 ways to get ahead in m-commerce in 2022

Just as mobile devices have grown in popularity over the years, so has mobile commerce, aka m-commerce. Using a mobile device allows consumers to browse and shop from anywhere, which can increase a customer’s impulse and on-the-spot purchases.

As more businesses see the potential of m-commerce, retailers need to think and plan ahead to stand out from their competition. Here are some mobile shopping trends and strategies to get ahead in m-commerce in 2022.

What is m-commerce?

M-commerce, or mobile commerce, is the use of a handheld mobile device, such as a phone or tablet, to conduct various commercial transactions online. These transactions can include browsing and purchasing products, conducting online banking and investing, or paying bills. With m-commerce, consumers can make purchases on the spot from any location, as long as they have a cell signal and a data plan.

Mobile shopping trends have proved that m-commerce is the future of shopping due to its convenience and streamlined technological advances that make it easy and appealing for consumers. According to Oberlo, almost 3 out of every 4 dollars spent on online purchases is done so through a mobile device, proving that m-commerce is an extremely prevalent and popular method of online shopping for users.

Updated m-commerce trends

There are numerous trends dominating the m-commerce industry today. For instance, while social media is dominating industries such as fashion and tech, it’s also contributing to more m-commerce sales. Data from App Inventiv showed that 55% of those shopping on their smartphones purchased a product after seeing it on a social media platform.

Voice shopping is steadily gaining popularity as voice-controlled smartphone assistants such as Siri gain advanced new features. In 2018, voice shopping was a $2 billion dollar industry. That number is estimated to grow to over $40 billion in 2022 — that’s a 1900% growth! It’s crucial to ensure your applications have taken voice capabilities into account.

Retail m-commerce sales hit $359.32 billion in 2021, an increase of 15.2% from the previous year. By 2025, these sales should more than double to reach $728.28 billion, and account for 44.2% of retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. By 2024, m-commerce volume is predicted to amount to $620.97 billion, or 42.9% of e-commerce sales. 

M-commerce also holds a unique position within the mobile wallet industry, which is expected to reach $3.5 trillion in earnings by 2023. Users are more likely to utilize a mobile-friendly website that remembers their payment information. By storing these details, those in the m-commerce space have firsthand access to a better end-user experience.

How retailers can optimize the mobile-first experience

In the world of m-commerce, there is a lot of competition. If a business’s website doesn’t highlight products effectively, this can lead to a loss of sales. In order for retailers to optimize the mobile-first experience and retain customers, businesses should consider ways in which they can establish efficient workflows to create a positive shopping experience for customers.

First, retailers should ensure that pages load quickly and are easy for a consumer to navigate. A survey from IMPACT showed that 61% of mobile users won’t return to a website that isn’t mobile optimized. Additionally, tagging product attributes and offering various category filters can lead to a smoother shopping experience for consumers, as they can filter out the kinds of items they don’t need and only browse for what they are looking for.

While these tips can help to optimize the customer’s experience, they require implementation, which can take a lot of resources. With the help of visual AI solutions, businesses can streamline their optimization process to drive sales.

2022 m-commerce tips for success

1. Select the appropriate technology strategy

As competition heats up in e-commerce and retail, startups are leveraging AI to personalize the product discovery process for buyers and retailers alike. Faced with increasing pressure from dominant players, many smaller retail and e-commerce companies are seeking new strategies to differentiate themselves and attract consumers. In response, startups have emerged to help retailers and e-commerce players streamline operations and personalize customer service, often through the use of AI-powered technology.

Specifically, many startups are leveraging AI to improve product discovery for both consumers and their retailers. While startups like Twiggle focus on improving e-commerce searches through natural language processing, others like OMNIOUS.AI help retailers optimize the results a consumer sees. This will increase mobile traffic and sales. Visual searches guide customers to make purchases by accurately displaying the items they are searching for, along with related items they may be interested in. This image recognition software helps consumers to use their time productively by browsing through product recommendations based on what they are interested in, rather than a random assortment of suggested items. This also helps customers quickly identify a product they want, giving them the initiative to make an on-the-spot purchase.

2. Personalization is key in mobile commerce

Nowadays, consumers desire relevant and targeted information. Companies use many approaches to create these personalized experiences, including letting shoppers self declare their preferences and demographics, or buying data. Recently, personalized user experience is a crucial factor that leads to conversion on mobile. 

3. Optimize shopper’s journey

If you want consumers to purchase your products, the buying process has to be simple. The fewer steps a customer has to take to make a purchase, the higher your conversion rate will be. Think about how you could help your customers get to the checkout in fewer steps.

Optimizing the commerce experience for all settings, touchpoints and environments will be the next frontier for the world’s leading retailers. 

Some of the main benefits of optimizing m-commerce experiences are:

• Increased conversion rate – A frictionless journey and an optimized retail experience makes it easy for new customers to become regular shoppers.
• Brand recognition – Any positive experience with a brand leads to increased recognition through word-of-mouth, positive reviews, or repeat buyers.
• Loyal customers – Customers support brands that provide personalized experiences for both digital and physical touchpoints.

4. Refine smartphone shopping cart features

A retailer’s shopping cart features can make or break a customer’s decision to purchase an item. Cart abandonment is a big issue with m-commerce, therefore, certain features are important to make sure customers return to purchase the product they are interested in.

Shopping carts should store all product information and data so customers can easily revisit and purchase an item at a later time. The cart should be a gateway for a customer’s order, the retailer’s catalog and customer management so consumers can find everything they need in one place.

By refining shopping cart features, a business can simplify a customer’s checkout experience to ensure they won’t face any roadblocks or inconveniences that will make them abandon their cart.

5. Improve personalization based on mobile data

Customers who browse and purchase in m-commerce create valuable data, which can be useful for retailers to utilize in creating a tailored shopping experience. As consumers browse, data is produced which helps retailers see their browsing and shopping habits, as well as engagement and purchase history.

This information helps customers get the best possible shopping experience. Retailers can communicate with customers in the way they prefer, to give them a personalized experience. By seeing customers’ shopping patterns, businesses can better understand what their customers are most interested in. This will assist in determining which products or services are working best.

6. Update your smartphone recommendation engine

Consumers rely on product recommendations to help them find what they are looking for. When a customer is browsing on their smartphone looking at a company’s products, they expect to see a list of similar or complementary items that go along with whatever they’re looking at.

In m-commerce, it’s important to keep the smartphone recommendation engine updated with the latest, while still relevant, products so consumers will browse new items and increase sales. Based on user preferences, browsing history and previous sales, retailers can tailor their results so the customer sees the products that they are most likely to purchase. Utilizing this tool helps get your products in front of the right consumers.

7. Focus on overall digital phone user experience

Retailers should focus on the overall digital phone user experience, considering that this is much different from when they are shopping using a computer. M-commerce consumers are often in a rush, distracted by things around them such as phone notifications and apps vying for the user’s attention, and they are looking for quick results. Because of this, retailers benefit from focusing their efforts on ensuring customers’ browsing experiences are enjoyable and free of any bugs, lag or difficulty in navigation. Every consumer will be shopping on a different device, so retailers should ensure the experience is optimized for each user and can accommodate any restraints the mobile device may pose while browsing a company’s website.

Jaeyoung Jun is the founder and CEO of OMNIOUS.AI.