M-Commerce is Here... Are You Mobile Ready?


More consumers are using mobile commerce than ever before. Suddenly it’s time to ask some questions: mobile commerce stats

  • How important is mobile commerce?
  • Is my business agile?
  • Is my site mobile-friendly?
  • Should I advertise on mobile platforms or social media?
  • How can my business take advantage of the new rise in m-commerce?

 

The Rise of M-commerce

Just as smartphone usage and sales continue to tick upward, mobile shopping is likewise expected to rise… quickly. Multichannel Merchant identified this rise in mobile commerce as one of the 3 major ecommerce trends that will get bigger in 2018

The infographic by Invesp shows that 19% of all ecommerce sales in the US are made on mobile devices. That figure is projected to rise to 27% by the end of 2018.

Social Media Influences

Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) in one survey said they made a purchase that was driven by social media, according to @Fitsmallbusiness. But only about 10 percent of the small businesses on Facebook are using the advertising.

Practical Application: One of our clients increased followers by 25% in just two months using a FB ad that cost about $7 per day. There are many ways to use these ads. Plus, since there’s less competition for these ads than other platforms, it’s a good tool to increase the brand awareness for a small company with a small advertising budget. We recommend starting with $50-100 per month and focus on increasing followers.

Other types of ads you can try:

  • Boost individual posts to increase exposure and sharing
  • Promote your site for more traffic
  • Choose a local phone ad to receive more walk-ins
  • Advertise your phone number for more calls

 

To engage the new followers, make sure to post engaging content that encourages sharing. Choose meaningful posts and news items, and be careful to spread them out a bit so as not to bombard the valuable audience.

And don’t be discouraged- a good audience takes time to grow. Our best advice is to start now, start small, and get a slow burn going while you work on other aspects of your business.

Mobile-Friendly is a Must

In the old days, 2 or 3 years ago, mobile-friendly sites were not very common. Some businesses setup separate mobile sites with streamlined structures to handle visitors on tablets or smartphones. A business could afford to have an ‘ok’ site on mobile and still be keeping up. But today’s eCommerce platforms absolutely must support mobile responsiveness.

If your site is not mobile-responsive, there is a very good chance you are losing business.

Hootsuite offers these 9 tips for creating a mobile-friendly website. First of all, it’s important to simplify the design. A layout that really spreads out and contains a lot of different elements does not translate well to mobile viewing. Today’s sites are clean and clear, easy to navigate and offer a short checkout process.

The menu will need to be reorganized and preferably appearis as a “hamburger” menu at the top of the screen in mobile. Each page should have clear headings and high-quality images. If you need a good source of royalty-free images, take your choice of these 5 amazing free stock photo sites.

Get Started

If your e-commerce site is not mobile-responsive, this is a good time to start working on it. There is ample time before the 2018 holiday season and there’s no time to lose. We encourage all of our clients to make sure they are ready for m-commerce. Please feel welcome to share your experiences or thoughts with us @SprocketExpress