The Future of Mobile E-Commerce: 7 Emerging Trends & Predictions

Mobile e-commerce (or m-commerce) is quickly become the dominant form of online shopping.

Consumers are increasingly using their phones to purchase goods and services, and businesses that weren’t prepared for the mobile revolution are stuck playing catch-up.

At Web Factory, it’s our job to help our clients avoid this fate by future proofing every solution we build. To do this, we constantly research emerging trends in mobile e-commerce and how businesses can use them to increase their customer base and profits.

Want to learn about the future of mobile commerce? Keep reading to get our top predictions for the coming years.

1. Apps Continue To Convert Better Than Mobile Sites

People love apps—they’re seen as more convenient, faster, and easier to browse than their web-based counterparts.

So, it’s no surprise that apps are converting better than mobile sites. In fact, according to recent studies, app users converted 157% more often than those using a mobile website—a game-changing improvement for the average e-commerce business.

Why are mobile app’s such powerful vehicles for conversion? There are a few possible explanations, but the simplest is this—mobile apps are designed for mobile. 

As a result, they’re much easier to use from mobile devices. This leads to mobile app users viewing an average of 4.2x more products per session compared to mobile site users, and taking 15% less time to complete their transactions.

2. Voice-Assisted Shopping Is on the Rise

Voice technology has been around for years, but it’s really starting to make its mark on e-commerce. From Amazon Echo and Google Home to smartphones and tablets, voice-assisted devices are becoming more and more popular—and so is voice shopping.

According to recent data, roughly 41% of US adults make at least one voice search every day. And many of these searches are for specific products, product recommendations, or pricing comparisons.

But what does this mean for e-commerce businesses?

For starters, it means that you should look into optimizing your website and app for voice searches. This ensures that your products will show up when someone uses a voice assistant to search for them.

It also means that you should start thinking about how you can use voice-assisted shopping to make the customer experience more personalized and enjoyable. For instance, you could implement a voice-assisted chatbot that can help customers find the products they’re looking for, or answer any questions they might have.

3. Visual Search Is Making Shopping Easier

Visual search is a technology that uses an image or video to identify objects. It’s been around for a few years, but it’s only now starting to gain traction among e-commerce businesses. In fact, it’s predicted that visual search will drive $2 trillion in e-commerce sales by 2021.

So, how does it work?

Essentially, customers upload an image or video of the product they’re looking for, and the platform then matches the image to products in its database.

A great example of this feature in action comes from H&M. Users of the H&M mobile app can upload a photo (either from their gallery or directly from their camera) and the app will display a selection of similar products from the H&M catalog.

Visual search has the potential to revolutionize the way mobile e-commerce works. By taking away the need to describe what you’re looking for, it makes it much faster and easier to find the products you want—and this means more conversions, sales, and revenue.

4. Augmented Reality Is Changing the Way We Shop

Augmented reality—or AR—is a technology that overlays digital information onto the real world. It’s already been used in a variety of ways, from education to entertainment, and now it’s starting to make an impact on e-commerce.

You’ve probably seen this trend develop yourself. It’s not uncommon for mobile product pages to sport “view in your space” buttons—especially in the home goods industry. IKEA has even developed a dedicated AR app that allows you to place virtual furniture in your home before you buy it. It’s a great way to get a better sense of how the furniture will look, and how well it fits into your existing space.

But that’s not all AR can do for e-commerce businesses. It can also be used to create more immersive shopping experiences, such as virtual showrooms or digital try-on services—just take a look at this impressive demo from AR startup Kivisense.

By utilizing AR, e-commerce companies can make the customer experience easier and more enjoyable—and that leads to more conversions. With the right tools and strategies, AR can be a powerful tool for any e-commerce business.

5. Shoppers Are Beginning To Prefer Chatbots

Earlier, we talked about chatbots in the context of voice-assisted shopping. But chatbots can be used for so much more than that.

Chatbots are increasingly becoming a staple of the e-commerce industry—and consumers are starting to like it. One recent study found that 54% of mobile shoppers would choose a chatbot over a human customer service agent if it saved them time.

This is a key finding because chatbots are much cheaper to maintain than human agents. This means businesses can offer quick, personalized customer service without breaking the bank.

The key is designing a good chatbot that actually saves your customers time. Luckily, the rise of no-code tools like Voiceflow have made it easier than ever to develop and implement a chatbot for your website or mobile app.

6. One-Click Ordering Is Becoming a Requirement

Implementing one-click ordering in your mobile app is quite possibly the easiest way to increase conversions and sales. This feature allows customers to complete their purchase with just one tap, bypassing traditional checkout processes.

There are tons of one-click ordering options out there, including:

• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Amazon Pay
• PayPal

By integrating one or more of these services into your app, you can make the checkout process a breeze for your customers—and increase the chances of them making a purchase.

In fact, one study found that Amazon’s 1-Click ordering feature raised the marketplace-wide average conversion rate 1.72x higher than the previous average.

7.  It’s Time To Adopt an Omnichannel Retail Strategy

If the rise of mobile e-commerce has told us anything, it’s that the customer experience is more important than ever.

That’s why it’s become increasingly important to adopt an omnichannel retail strategy. This means providing customers with a consistent experience across all channels, your website and mobile app to brick-and-mortar stores.

An omnichannel approach can offer customers a number of benefits, like the ability to buy online and pick up in-store or have their purchases shipped directly to their homes. It’s also an opportunity to provide customers with loyalty rewards and promotions, no matter how they shop.

Ultimately, an omnichannel retail strategy can help you build better relationships with customers and increase customer loyalty. And that can pay off big in the long run.

Build the Best Mobile E-commerce Experience Possible With Web Factory

As you can see, there are a lot of different trends and technologies emerging in the e-commerce space. And it can be hard to keep up with them all.

That’s why you need the help of a digital development agency like Web Factory. We specialize in helping companies create the best mobile e-commerce experiences possible.

Whatever your needs, your team of specialists will be with you every step of the way—from strategy to design, development and beyond. So if you’re ready to start building the best mobile e-commerce experience, contact Web Factory today.