Mobile shopping is huge, which we discussed in an earlier blog post. But as it turns out, it is much bigger than previously thought, and it is continuing to grow with every passing day.
Mobile sales, reported by the 500 leading mobile commerce sites, are expected to reach $155 billion by the end of 2015. And by 2016, global ecommerce will reach $1,321.4 TRILLION (that’s 12 zeroes). That’s a staggering increase of 67 % in just five years.
This astronomical figure exceeds the combined 2012 GDPs of Indonesia ($874.04 BN); Turkey ($789.26 BN) the Netherlands ($772.23 BN) and Switzerland ($632.2 BN) by more than 430 times!
The figures reflect the viral nature of online and mobile purchasing, and the fact that transactions can be done quicker, easier, more efficiently, and just as safely through digital methods. Consumers want instant gratification and results, so it’s pretty clear that shoppers prefer the convenience and speed of digital purchasing as opposed to physically going to a store and waiting in line.
- In the UK, 59% of shoppers refuse to wait in a line
- 32% would rather buy online if faced with a line
- 18% would go to another store if the one they originally went to had a long line
Every year, lines resulted in $20.65 million of MISSED sales. Dramatically reducing lines therefore tops the list of retail action items.
The Growth of Mobile:
Of all consumers, 21% are now M-Shoppers (mobile-assisted shoppers).
It is predicted that by 2017, there will be 9 billion mobile devices in circulation, and by 2018 nearly half of all ecommerce will be from mobile sales.
Mobile now accounts for 15-20% of eBay sales. Contactless payments enable consumers to make purchases using Amazon, Starbucks, PayPal and more. The use of mobile wallets is attributed to 74% convenience, 63% to time saving, and 58% to ease of use.
Further proof of the enormity of the mobile shopping scene emerged from a survey conducted by mobile loyalty company, SessionM, which recently surveyed 12,000 randomly selected US smartphone users about their mobile shopping behaviors. They found that 85% of respondents said their m-commerce buying was steady or had increased versus a year ago.
More than 90% of respondents said they had made a retail purchase in the past 90 days. While 73% of them had made those purchases in a physical store, an overwhelming majority said they used their smartphones in the store while shopping. The top activities on smartphones while shopping physically in a store were the following:
- Price comparisons
- Looking up product information
- Checking reviews online
- Seeking coupons or deals
Deals and loyalty programs are two reasons for shoppers to download a retailer app, which can then get them to opt-in to notifications. The availability of mobile payment systems is another reason.
Retailers must also see in-store smartphone usage as an extension of the traditional retail experience and adapt their apps mobile sites to take leverage mobile shopper behavior, in addition to focusing on those who perform the entire purchase process from their mobile devices.
With all this evidence and these mind-bending numbers, it’s clear that the mobile retail shopping trend bigger than imagined!
