Understanding Mobile Commerce: Definition & Benefits

Mobile Commerce Definition

What is mobile commerce? Mobile commerce is the shopping, banking, or making of payments online through mobile devices such as mobile phones or tablets.  

As consumers are using their mobile phones more and more often, it’s only a matter of time before m-commerce grows. 

What Are the Types of Mobile Commerce?

1. Mobile Shopping 

Mobile shopping is ecommerce shopping done through a mobile device. This is why responsive designs are important when it comes to optimizing a website. Regardless of website, mobile shopping is currently done through dedicated apps and social media platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

2. Mobile Payments 

Mobile payments, which include mobile wallets, allow for easy money transactions through mobile devices. This therefore grants customers the chance to purchase and transfer money conveniently through their mobile devices. 

3. Mobile Banking

As the name suggests, mobile banking allows individuals to make bank or financial transactions through mobile banking apps. Most common transactions can be done swiftly; however, sometimes there is a need for the help of chatboxes and customer support for maximum support. 

Why Mobile Optimization is Important

With the rise of ecommerce, 2.64 billion people shop online as of 2023, which makes up 33.3% of the population worldwide. 

What Are the Advantages of Mobile Commerce?

24/7 Convenience 

Mcommerce makes it easier for customers to compare prices, read reviews and feedback, and make purchases when they’d like, wherever they’d like. 

Automation

Many mcommerce stores offer automated channels such as emails and SMS messaging to keep customers informed about any possible discounts, sales, and more. Automation is also included in regards to contactless payment options such as Apple Pay, PayPal One Touch, and Visa Checkout.  

Large Customer Base

Mcommerce offers a large customer base and better retention, making it more widely and easily accessible. To boost retention rates, businesses can use this data to target shoppers with personalized shopping discounts and experiences. 

How Mobile Mommerce Works 

In order to keep track of m-commerce applications, there are important key performance indicators such as: 

• Total Mobile Traffic ​
• Total Application Traffic 
• Average Order Value 
• Value of Orders Over Time

The best way to know you are gaining traction is by setting your KPI’s for the month. This will assist developers in monitoring users and placing them as regular customers. 

Developers may be interested in logging average page loading times since there is a high rate of customers leaving a website, as well as an app, if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. 

It is also important that developers ensure a safe and secure transaction, since mobile payment often works as peer-to-peer sharing. When an individual’s mobile device is paired, the phone can be waved over a payment gateway to pay for a product (in the case of Apple Pay). 

What is the Difference Between M-Commerce and E-Commerce?

There are a few distinctions between mcommerce and ecommerce. 

1. Mobility 

First, ecommerce is the buying or selling of products and/or services online. Ecommerce transactions can be done on a desktop where the user is in a fixed spot, which therefore reduces mobility. 

Mcommerce tends to offer great mobility since it is conducted through handheld devices that can be used anywhere with an internet connection, including buses, trains, airplanes, or even when exercising. 

2. Location Tracking 

Ecommerce is more limited when it comes to location tracking. The location feature on ecommerce sites is often limited when it is used with a nonmobile device.

However, mcommerce apps can track the location through WiFi or GPS-based technologies that enable location-specific features and content, leading to more personalized recommendations. 

3. Security

Security features are a must, but if we had to compare the two, mobile commerce is deemed to be the most secure. With extra-added measures such as biometric authentication, mobile wallets, quick responses, or QR codes, mcommerce closes the gap on any possible security breaches. 

Ecommerce, on the other hand, is considered to be riskier, with most data breaches and identity thefts happening because of card misuse. This isn’t to say that using security measures such as multifactor authentication is not beneficial; however, when it comes to choosing between the two, mcommerce is the safest option. 

Mobile Commerce Trends 

According to Insider Intelligence, mobile commerce will account for 10.4% of all retail sales by 2025. Here are some of the current and predicted trends in mobile commerce: 

Augmented Reality

AR assists in improving brand presence and provides digital content optimization. For example, IKEA offers customers the chance to use AR models of IKEA furniture from the mobile app to see how those pieces fit in their home or office. 

Mobile SEO 

Websites that fail to provide a good user experience or mobile-responsive website risk user abandonment, which increases the bounce rate, leading to lower ranking in SEO and Google searches. 

Mobile Banking

Users have the advantage of sending money to others and conducting transactions with their bank, regardless of their location. 

Understanding Mobile Commerce & GuruDesk 

Mobile Commerce has been in the making for a while now due to the increase in mobile usage and the internet revolution. Companies are slowly increasing their digital tool usage and platforms to increase customer engagement and business growth. ​​

So, what could GuruDesk offer you? We hold dear to our hearts the importance of making a business grow, while we take care of all the technicalities, which include creating a responsive web design. 

With our Guru Developers and Guru Designers, we would be offering a fast performing, secure, scalable, and responsive website with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.