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What is mobile commerce?

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Last editedApr 20233 min read

According to Statista figures, nearly a third of U.S. shoppers prefer to pay with their smartphone all the time in 2022. With U.S. mobile commerce sales also estimated at $431 billion in 2022 alone, there’s no better time to acquaint yourself with this trend. So, what is mobile commerce, and why is it so popular? Here’s what you should know about the latest mobile commerce trends as well as a few tips to help you optimize your mobile shopping experience.

What is mobile commerce?

Often shortened to m-commerce, mobile commerce describes the use of handheld smart devices to conduct online transactions. Over 86% of the world’s population owns a smartphone and many of them rely on this device to buy and sell products, pay bills, and bank online.

Here are a few examples of mobile commerce:

In-app purchasing
Marketplace apps
Mobile banking apps
Purchasing products online
Mobile ticketing

What is the difference between mobile commerce and ecommerce?

Mobile commerce is related to electronic commerce. While ecommerce can be conducted using any type of internet-connected device, m-commerce specifically uses a mobile device or smartphone. Ecommerce transactions often involve several steps for completion when performed on a desktop or laptop computer. By contrast, mobile commerce transactions are often completed with a couple of clicks due to stored in-app data or digital wallets.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile commerce?

As with any type of transaction, there are pros and cons associated with mobile commerce. Here are just a few benefits of mobile commerce.

Convenience: Most Americans carry their phones everywhere. Mobile commerce allows consumers to complete transactions anywhere on the go.
Better customer experience: Brands can target customers anywhere, which means you don’t need to waste any time providing a great customer experience.
Speed of service: Checkout processes can be streamlined with mobile commerce, with optimized apps and websites.
Alternative payment options: Rather than relying solely on debit and credit cards, customers can use alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, Venmo, and bank transfers.

Of course, there are also some challenges associated with the rollout of mobile commerce.

Need for optimization: With constant advances in technology, it’s very important to continually optimize your mobile website for the best customer experience.
Increased competition: Customers can compare prices and products from the palm of their hand with m-commerce apps. You’ll need to make sure your pricing strategy is adequate.
Load times: Load times can rely on the speed and quality of a user’s connection. If a buyer is in an area with poor reception, this can lead to longer load times and abandoned shopping carts.

How to use mobile commerce effectively

Working mobile commerce into your ecommerce strategy begins with a mobile-optimized website. Think about how your customers interact with your brand on a smartphone or tablet and change the design accordingly. Larger fonts can be easier to read on small screens, as can square or vertical images. If you use an ecommerce payment system, a responsive theme will automatically adjust your online storefront to suit the device.

Load speeds are another key issue to think about with mobile optimization. Test and optimize load speed as necessary to make sure your store doesn’t frustrate mobile shoppers. Disable unnecessary apps, themes, and images to speed up those times. Along these same lines, optimize your checkout pages to increase conversions. Offer an array of different payment methods including express checkout to speed up the process.

GoCardless can help by collecting payments directly from customer bank accounts, perfect for one-off invoices and recurring subscription payments. We offer high converting payment pages to boost your mobile checkout experience. Choose from hosted pages and a custom API for developers. With automation and anti-fraud intelligence, you’ll also improve the customer experience overall.

What is the future of mobile commerce?

Mobile commerce trends include a focus on the omnichannel customer experience and international payments. This means brands provide a seamless transition between multiple devices, channels, and touchpoints. There’s an increasing trend for the use of social commerce, chatbots, and even virtual reality to revolutionize the mobile shopping experience.

The future of mobile commerce blends these elements into everyday retail journeys. Shoppers will enjoy fluid transitions between in-person, online, and in-app purchases, with personalization at every stage.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.