Trends & Technologies In Mobile E-Commerce

We continue to see changes in the mobile, eCommerce, and enterprise industries every year, and this year has been no exception.

Mobile Commerce

Mobile commerce or m-commerce, is conducting online businesses using portable devices and allows for purchasing a wide range of goods and services, including banking, paying bills, investing, and buying digital music, books, plane tickets, and much more! During a typical day’s activity, an average person checks their mobile phone for three hours and fifteen minutes (once every 10 minutes).

Electronic Commerce

Electronic commerce or eCommerce is internet-based transactions for selling and purchasing products and services using a desktop, computer, laptop, or tablet. Companies are building or revamping their online stores to serve their customers better. Amazon, Alibaba, and Walmart, three of the world’s largest eCommerce development companies, have embraced and profited from such developments.

M-commerce transactions are made within a few taps, whereas e-Commerce transactions require a little bit more time.

Enterprises

Back then, creating a mobile app or website for a business seemed a luxury – But now, costs are lower, and the process is pretty much simpler. As more advanced phone technologies emerge, such as 5G, mobile commerce is set to flourish. Added to that, mobile devices are ubiquitous, and society is increasingly reliant on digital devices. The technologies help you strengthen your brand, increase revenue, boost users’ experience, and enhance customer loyalty.

We have listed the most prominent trends and technologies that businesses will adapt to do everything double quick in the coming months and years.

Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR)

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are helping buyers a lot. They can now see what they’re buying, which aids in enhancing the purchasing experience in several sectors, such as home decor and fashion. It is because the consumers may get a better sense of the item without seeing it. Around 35% of shoppers would prefer online shopping more if they could virtually try on products before purchasing them.

AR allows consumers to verify whether a couch fits their space using their mobile device’s camera. They can even try on new clothes in the comfort of their homes. Customers can select items in virtual stores with haptic gloves. As these inventions integrate other technology, they are quietly gaining popularity. With Sephora Virtual Artist, users can use AR to try on a variety of makeup looks, and photograph their outfits. ARKit was launched by Apple for iOS 11 and ARCore by Google for Android. Further, IKEA has launched a new AR app that lets customers see furniture in their homes or test its products using iOS 11’s ARKit technology. How awesome is that, now? Sooner or later, AR is Going to Shake Things UP!

Furthermore, automakers, including Audi, Toyota, and Mercedes, make use of VR technology. Showrooms use virtual versions of cars for first-time visitors, and users experience it as more friendly!

Visual Search

There will be an increase in image shopping in eCommerce. To purchase an item from an online store, users will point their camera at the item they wish to purchase. Like CamFinder, there are other photo apps accessible, and next year, many more will appear. This trend will also result in the sale of affiliate goods via photoshopping.
For instance, Pinterest recently unveiled its photo camera. It identifies and decodes photos to describe products. Numerous eCommerce sites and search engines already partner with it. Images are categorized and interpreted based on pertinent information.

Voice Search or Voice Assistants

People now rely on voice assistants to complete their daily tasks. The most popular voice assistants are Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Siri, and Windows Hey Cortana, which are integrated into smart devices. They have smart speakers that let customers do more than just search for items online; they also allow their purchase to be placed, which saves the customers’ time and energy. People use voice search to shop online and order food. Some people also rely on these assistants to complete their daily tasks.
Recent research has found that Voice Search and Visual Search reduce customers’ search time, allowing them to buy goods more quickly, which results in higher lead conversions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Personalization

The best way to WOW your customers is to improve their customer experience. Artificial Intelligence or AI helps businesses to provide customers with automated and immediate customer care. It provides shoppers with personalized shopping experiences by analyzing their gender, age, geographical location, shopping cart, browsing history, purchasing behavior, and other details. With AI, buyers can get relevant product recommendations, too, based on the collected data.
AI makes customer-centric, automated purchasing possible. It constantly gathers information on customers’ shopping habits, the timing of their transactions, and the qualities they want in a good or service. A report by Business Insider says that retailers who implement personalization strategies in their businesses enjoy sales increases of 6 to 10%.

Chatbots

A chatbot is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent that makes the product query conversation between customers and your business comfortable and quick. People of this age want to find and buy products with ease quickly, and if they can’t, they become irate. Here, a chatbot helps! It improves the customer shopping experience. AI-powered chatbots increase user interaction by offering them pertinent alternatives. They are becoming more affordable, common, and smarter.
You can provide 24/7 customer service and automate order processes by integrating AI chatbots into a website. Just like an in-store sales associate, a chatbot interacts with online shoppers. As well as being an economic tool for tracking customer behaviors, they can also be used to collect and analyze data.

Payment Methods

By providing a range of payment options, ecommerce businesses can increase conversion rates on mobile devices. Additionally, buyers can complete the checkout process even quicker the next time they purchase if they save their payment information on your site. Just imagine how much easier it would be to buy anything online if you only had to provide a unique ID at checkout! The centralized wallet service that securely stores your payment information, shipping and billing addresses, preferences, etc., would use this ID.
Another trend that is slowly gaining traction is social payments, which are made famous by PayPal. They enable users to send money to one another using social media. Nearly all giant social media networks have developed their own – such as Twitter Buy, Facebook Payments, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, etc.
These payment options function much like a digital bank account. Users of social media can purchase goods via online merchants who accept these payment methods or directly from the sites themselves.

Videos On Websites & Apps

People respond to videos more as they keep them engaged, and it won’t disappear anytime soon. Making videos for your website is a terrific way to grab visitors’ attention, engage them right away and educate them about your goods or services. They give customers a chance to discover how an eCommerce brand’s goods and services address the opportunity, challenge, or issue that they are trying to solve. Mobile applications that use videos to highlight a product’s major features are likely to bring in more money.
It is impossible to overstate the value of videos. Videos can better assist you in describing and showcasing your products than photographs ever could! It would be best to think about including product videos in your online store.

Industry Influencers, Publications, & News

Unbelievably, recommendations from influencers impact 70% of them! Customers heavily rely on influencer recommendations while making decisions. Additionally, data demonstrate that 30% of consumers purchase goods that non-celebrity influencers suggest. Therefore, for the 2023 sales season, market your products through appropriate influencers.
Besides, you must keep up with industry blogs and relevant news to be informed of what’s going on. To acquire the complete picture, start by locating publications and influencers that are especially linked to your sector.
Statistics and reports can help you predict where things are going in your industry. By keeping track of trends in your business, you’ll know which ones are worth your time and effort.

Feedback & Reviews

Getting feedback from customers is very crucial for a business. Nowadays, many businesses ask for customer feedback and reviews because it helps them analyze their flaws and good parts. You should not hesitate to ask your present customers what they want. Feedback from your customers will help you identify trends and develop more detailed future strategies. You never know; a customer might even suggest something you had yet to think of!

Drone Delivery

You’ve read rumors about it and perhaps even watched a few videos. However, drone delivery has only ever been in the testing phases up until now. But now you can finally anticipate its appearance. Businesses like UPS, Amazon, and Domino are in the early stages of testing drone delivery.Google’s parent company’s subsidiary Wing has delivered 10,000 cups of coffee, 1200 roast chickens, and 1,000 loaves of bread using drones! During hundreds of concurrent internal flight and delivery tests, the company claims it has never had a delivery issue at Logan.

Blockchain Technology

Despite the small market and blockchain and cryptocurrency technology, blockchain-based apps seem promising. Here’s why. OpenBazaar is one of the best eCommerce platform built on the blockchain network. It is a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace where cryptocurrency transactions take place. It is free for vendors, and anyone, even those without any programming experience, can easily open up a store.

So, it’s no secret that there’s a lot of innovation happening in the mobile, eCommerce, and enterprise spaces. As the year moves on, these trends and technologies will only grow bigger and get better. They are greatly changing the way we run our businesses online.

Closing Thoughts

The one thing you can be sure of is that you can learn something new anytime, try it out, and see if it works for your business. You should not reject a technology that appeals to you and fits your business strategy if it meets all your requirements!