New Data Shows Shoppers Are Seizing Mobile Commerce
By Hannah Ash, contributing writer
As Mobile Commerce Expands, Retailers Must Adapt
Mobile shopping is hot; today’s consumers are more comfortable than ever before with on-the-go shopping. Forty-five percent of flash sale online retailer Zulily’s 2013 Q4 orders were placed from a mobile device. As smartphones and tablets are enjoying more saturation, mobile shopping is taking the spotlight. For Zulily’s target demographic, mobile shopping makes sense for busy parents who are short on time to allot to trips to stores. According to quarterly data released by Unbound Commerce, compared to 2013’s Q1, the 2014 first quarter’s mobile commerce sales for its online retailers increased by 101.45%
Culturally, shopping has shifted from an activity that required a time commitment to an activity that fills up free moments. Smartphones and tablets are being used both as tools for enhancing the shopping experience and as vehicles for shopping. According to Nielsen, 46 percent of smartphone users stated they use their smartphones while watching television; another survey indicates that 66 percent of shoppers will shop a physical store if it has a ‘useful’ app. Starbucks reported 11 percent of all transactions are conducted through mobile commerce; CEO Howard Schultz states, “all of us can see in our individual life that our phone is becoming our primary device for all kinds of things.”
The Local Mobile Trends Study conducted in January 2014, revealed the majority of shoppers surveyed used their smartphones as tools for shopping in brick-and-mortar stores.
As mobile shopping ramps up, the need for apps and responsive web design also increases. Shopping experiences must consider the mobile device and specifically engage them. “The thing that seems to seamlessly connect online and offline is the phone,” comments Barbara Kahn, director, Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Designing the seamless shopping experience today means designing shopping experiences that cater to mobile shoppers, whether they are shopping in the actual store with an app or browsing at home on the couch.