Mobile commerce has more than doubled since October of 2009, and now almost 50% of smartphone users have completed a purchase through their mobile device. Not surprisingly, the group that was most likely to have made a mobile purchase was the 25-34 age group, which also has a high smartphone penetration rate.
Driving mobile commerce adoption from a user perspective is convenience and accessibility, with 81% of consumers reporting this as an attribute for using their mobile device to purchase products. Also on the top of the list is simplicity and ease of use with 73% of consumers reporting this as an important attribute.
What we can see from this data is that mobile devices allow consumers to purchase products from locations and at points in time that was previously not possible. Whether the consumer is in a local retail shop checking out different makes and models of a bike, and while in-store checks online to see if she can get a better deal there and buys from the online retailer with the lowest price or see’s a mobile banner ad for a product he is interested in while browsing to kill some time waiting for a friend to arrive for drinks, commerce was not previously possible in this way.
Top products purchased through mobile devises include music, ringtones, applications, electronics, clothing and books. Each of these categories can be seen as (low barrier to entry, impulse…) purchases that don’t require a significant amount of research and are relatively inexpensive.
So what does this mean for brands? In consumers hectic and busy lives, they are looking for a more convenient way to make purchases, and mobile gives them that flexibility. If you have products that consumers are apt to buy on impulse, driving sales through mobile commerce is a great way for you to increase overall revenue, particularly if your products appeal to the 25-34 year old age group.
There are several ways to drive mobile commerce that brands should consider. You can create a mobile optimized site to sell products you currently sell through your website, drive sales through banner ads that link to mobile commerce opportunities, or using a 2D mobile commerce solution like Commerce SnapTags that allow you to activate mobile commerce transactions from any printed media.
The opportunity for revenue from this channel is huge and given is exponential growth potential is something brands will need to figure out.
