Take a moment and think of how you search for things online. When you are at home relaxing on your couch or bed, what device do you use the most? If you answered a mobile device, you are one of more than 2 billion people who do the same.
In 2018, 52.2% of the world’s Internet traffic came through mobile users. In 2017, 65.1% of Internet traffic from Asia and 59.5% of traffic from Africa came through mobile devices. By contrast, about 40% of American Internet users browsed the Internet on mobile.
North America, Europe, and Asia make up the largest group of online buyers, making up to 70% of all online buyers. With nearly half of the group shopping online these days, it’s not surprising that e-commerce stores are taking mobile responsiveness serious. Below are more reasons.
#1: Consumers Love Apps
Customers love shopping websites that run efficiently on their mobile devices. But even more, they love responsive apps that load fast. The average smartphone owner has ten or more apps they downloaded on play stores.
Mobile apps are 1.5 times faster than mobile sites especially if they store their data locally on your device. They can also be easy to use if they are properly designed. As an ecommerce store, your job is to make purchasing on your store as convenient as possible for the customers.
If you don’t have a mobile app, it’s probably time you got one. They are easy to make and aren’t expensive to make. That doesn’t mean you should hire just about anyone to build an ecommerce for you.
Mobile apps deal with the same security issues websites have. Customers also don’t think twice about deleting apps that don’t run efficiently. If you have to get an app, invest in a good app and in its maintenance.
#2: Increasing Number of Mobile users
Less than ten years ago, very few people used their mobile devices to shop online. The numbers began to skyrocket between 2012 and 2017 and ecommerce stores started building responsive sites. While less than 50% of users in the US buy products online, those numbers are slated to continue increasing.
Last December, nearly 70% of Americans who shopped on Amazon used their mobile devices. Walmart had near-similar statistics during thanksgiving day of 2017. Elsewhere around the world, the number of mobile users is increasing at record numbers.
In select African countries like Kenya, the percentage of people who shop using their mobile devices is as high as 83%. The increasing number of mobile shoppers correspond with an increase in the overall rise of smartphone ownership.
#3: Users can Access the Commerce Stores Remotely
One of the biggest benefits of smartphones is that they are mobile. You can travel with your iPhone anywhere around the world. And if you are in a place with good Internet connections, you can access all your favorite websites and order any items you need.
While laptops are also portable, people don’t travel with them everywhere. Smartphones are objectively more mobile. As an ecommerce store, having a mobile responsive site or app ensures your customers buy from you no matter where they travel.
If you haven’t built your store yet, make it mobile responsive from the word go. Work with the top ecommerce site builders to get nothing less of what you would want. Ensure you also develop an app to give your customers more choices when they need to shop from you.
#4: Quick Updates with Push Notifications
Mobile devices provide your business with the opportunity to promote new offers to customers without being intrusive. Push notifications also work on desktop computers but they don’t have the impact made by mobile phones.
Your customers are always with their phones. They view your updates immediately they connect to the Internet. If your offers are good, they’ll probably also make orders immediately. You can still send promotional offers to customers’ email addresses if they decline push notifications. Because they spend more time on their phones, they get to view the emails as soon as you send them.
#5: One Account, Multiple Devices
As the costs of smart devices continue to go down, consumers are increasingly buying multiple devices. It’s not a surprise to find someone with a smartphone, tablet, and laptop at the same time. In a family unit, everyone in the house could two or more devices.
Since most of these devices are mobile, you have a higher chance of increasing your sales if your store can be accessed across multiple platforms. Using a single account, the buyers can view items while at work on their desktops. They can view their dream dresses and gaming products on their iPads after work and make orders on their smartphones later on.
#6: Allows your Business to Promote its Brand
Ever seen Amazon’s apps? Whether it’s the eBook reader or the audio reader, their apps are unified by the brand’s logo. The Coca Cola mobile website takes the famous red and white colors. You don’t have to be as big as Amazon or Coca-Cola to build a brand out of your store.
Decide on colors for your stores, a logo and features unique to your brand. If the features appear on your site; apps, mobile sites and on packages, customers will soon be able to identify you. Branding also goes beyond what can be seen.
Building a brand out of good customer services and timely deliveries will earn you more customers than fancy colors. Once your brand is established, your expenses on advertising and marketing will reduce. Your customers will no longer need to be reminded of how great your services are. They already know. They can identify your apps and re-order items because they believe in your brand.
To Conclude
Modern e-commerce stores are quickly learning the value of mobile responsiveness. Consumers are increasingly relying on mobile devices for online shopping. They spend more times on apps than websites on their computer screens. Any business that wants to survive in the industry today has to be mobile first. They also must learn the needs of mobile users and fulfill them effectively.
