The Three Hot Driving Trends of mCommerce in 2013

Many tech pundits call 2012 as the year of the mobile, and looking at the following figures, most of you will have to agree that the pundits are, indeed, right. It isn’t just the figures of shipping of mobile devices, but it is also the penetration of mobile devices into mCommerce that showed their increased usage and importance.

• According to the estimates of eMarketer, the market research company, retail mCommerce sales in the U.S. went up to 81 percent. It grossed nearly $25 billion, which is absolutely huge.
• The company also estimated that in 2013, US consumers are likely to spend around $24 billion in shopping through tablets, which is going to be doubled by 2015.

According to experts, adoption of mCommerce is being propelled by few hot trends.  While eCommerce has had a strong impact on online retailing, mobile trends are having strong impact on eCommerce.

Let’s have a look at those three mobile trends that are changing facets of online retailing.

The Rise of the Tablets

Tablets offer a bigger screen and better surfing experience than smartphones. Penetration of tablets in mCommerce rose steadily in 2012. According to trend-tracking firm comScore, tablets are the driving force behind steeping mCommerce sales. Ease of use and amazing shopping experience delivered by tablets has brought these devices into the mobile trend.

A separate study carried out by Google in 2011 revealed that people who owned tablets spent more time on their tablets rather than their desktops.

Another study done by Adobe in 2012 found out that 43 percent of tablet users said that they liked shopping with their tablet. According to eMarketer, there is such a rapid rise of tablet usage that this year, online shopping through tablets shall account for 9.4 percent of all retail eCommerce sales, which shall grow up to 16.9 percent by 2016. This trend may also have an impact on how online merchants promote their products in the mobile channel.

Evolution of Smartphones

Though contribution of smartphones has lower percentage than tablets, evolution of smartphones have played vital role in adoption of mobile commerce. For instance, retina display of iPhone 5 certainly gives users a better experience than the screen of the first-generation of iPhone. Smartphones have undergone modifications, and these modifications have resulted into their increased usage.

Today’s smartphones feature better Internet surfing capabilities coupled with bigger screens and swift controls, which have certainly appealed to mobile device users. This year, experts predict that contribution of smartphones would be around 5.3 percent of the online retailing. Although low in percentage, smartphones are still playing a significant part in mobile commerce which is why they have been placed in the mobile trends.

More People Going Mobile

Each year, the number of consumers going mobile is increasing, which is clearly evident by the growing number of mobile devices shipped every year. According to the research of Strategy Analytics, around 1.6 billion mobile devices were shipped globally in the year 2012. Moreover, the proliferation of mobile platforms has provided consumers with numerous choices. Few years ago, a good cell phone with top-notch features was a dream for maximum people, but today, owning a smartphone at reasonable rate isn’t a big deal anymore.

The huge figure given by BI is evidence that more and more people are inclining towards mobility, and this inclination is another trend that’s driving mCommerce sales. Further, according to BusinessInsider, around 50 percent of teenagers smartphone owners access Internet and shop through their devices. This emphasizes that for maximum consumers of young age, online purchasing via mobile devices is more a habit rather than a novelty.

As mobile devices are becoming smarter, people are enjoying the immediacy that these devices provide, which in turn is resulting into increased mCommerce sales.