Mobile Commerce: Stats and Trends (2024)

10 Mobile Commerce: Stats and Trends

If you are amongst the 6.74 billion smartphone users in the world, you know how crucial this device is for you. Starting from paying bills to entertainment, your smartphone has a solution to everything.
As a business owner, you have witnessed the rise of mobile commerce in recent years. According to statistics, mobile commerce is a USD 611.6 billion market in 2023. Therefore, if your business is not optimized for mobile users, you may be losing a huge amount of revenue. Let us understand some key statistics of m-commerce and understand how it is impacting every business owner.

What Is Mobile Ecommerce?

Mobile e-commerce or m-commerce is the process of buying and selling goods and services through smartphones or tablets. M-commerce also includes commercial transactions such as online banking and bill payment.
According to statistics, over 85% of Americans are smartphone users, and a majority of them prefer buying goods and services through their smartphones. Smartphones in 2023 have also enabled the purchase of entertainment, with subscription-based entertainment providers such as Amazon Prime and Netflix coming to the forefront. Hence, from this, we can conclude that m-commerce is an important part of every business, and every business owner must leverage the benefits of this development.

What Is the Difference Between E-commerce and M-commerce?

E-commerce or electronic commerce is an umbrella term, and m-commerce is a part of it. While e-commerce includes every commercial transaction that takes place digitally, m-commerce is restricted to transactions that take place through a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet.
So, if you are browsing through a clothing website on your desktop and decide to purchase an article, you are involved in e-commerce, and if you are viewing the same website through your mobile device and decide to purchase an article, you are involved in m-commerce which is a sub-category of e-commerce.

Mobile E-commerce Statistics

Mobile commerce has been evolving in terms of its relevance and security. Here are the top nice mobile commerce statistics you need to know before you implement any strategy for your brand:

1. E-commerce sales are projected to exceed $710 billion in 2025
   Mobile e-commerce has been booming since the 2020 post-pandemic, and 2022 saw an 18% rise in overall market growth. Moreover, some reports suggest that post-pandemic e-commerce growth is expected to reach $719 billion in 2025, and 44% of the projected revenue will come from mobile commerce. Additionally, according to Insider Intelligence, e-commerce retail share will increase to 9% by 2026. 

2. The conversion rate is still higher in desktop (3%) compared to mobile (2%)
   Even though mobile devices come with certain conveniences, the conversion rate is still higher on the desktop. Studies state that this trend is due to the fact that desktops have bigger screens where customers get a better view of the product they want to purchase. However, reports also show that customers initially browse the website through mobile devices and later view it from their desktops to make the final purchase. Further, 31% of respondents in the research agreed that they are more likely to make purchases from their mobile phones if the screen is bigger. This is a clear indicator that the size of the screen matters while making an online purchase.

3. The average order value is higher on desktops than on mobile devices
   Based on studies on different retail brands, the average value of online orders has increased by $20 since 2020. However, the average order value on desktops remains $40 higher than on mobile devices. This may be because even though a huge portion of revenue for every e-commerce business comes from mobile devices, almost 24% of the top websites are not mobile-friendly. Therefore, users may find purchasing through their desktops easier.

4. 49% of mobile users use their mobile devices to compare prices of products and services and make the final purchase on their desktops
   Studies show that the first time a potential customer visits your website is through their cell phones. Therefore, brands must prioritize making their websites mobile-friendly. You can have a different version of your website for smartphones with a faster loading time to create a good first impression.

5. Mobile app conversion is 157% higher than mobile web conversion
   Yes, you heard it right: mobile app conversion is 157% higher than mobile web conversion. Hence, every brand is concentrating on creating a mobile app version of their website where customers can easily purchase goods.Apps are the future of m-commerce, and if you still don’t have an app in 2023, it is about time that you seriously consider it. A major reason why mobile apps are so popular is because of their convenience. Once you have made a purchase, your address and card details are automatically saved in the app, which makes the second purchase more convenient. 

6. Customers globally have spent 100 billion hours on mobile shopping apps
   Post-pandemic, people spending time on mobile shopping apps have increased by 18%. The most popular apps where people spend time are fast fashion and social media shopping. It is also worth noting that mobile app shopping is most popular amongst Gen Z  and millennials.

7. 67% of customers stated that elements on mobile websites are difficult to click
   67% of respondents in a study stated that one of the biggest barriers while shopping through mobile phones is that the screens are too small, making it difficult to view or click on elements. Moreover, 74% of customers in another study stated that they are more likely to return to a website that is mobile-friendly. 

8. 42% of customers stated that security was a big issue while shopping on mobile devices
   Shopping on mobile devices requires you to save your address and card details on the website. While mobile apps have dual lock facilities that provide security to the customer, mobile websites don’t come with such features, and anyone can open your account if they have access to your mobile phone. Many customers feel that their private information and data are not protected on mobile websites and don’t prefer making the final purchase from their phones.

9. 97% of the customers abandon their carts on a mobile website
   Customers prefer one-click ordering, which is the major reason for cart abandonment on mobile websites. Manually entering each and every detail that goes into placing an order is a tedious process, which is why cart abandonment on mobile websites is very high as compared to mobile apps, which is only 20%. But why does the same device have two drastically different statistics on two different platforms? As mentioned earlier, mobile apps let you store information, making purchasing just one click away.

10. 48% of customers say they get frustrated when a website is not mobile-friendly
    If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, you might be helping your competitors get more customers. 48% of customers say they get frustrated when a website is not mobile-friendly. Moreover, 56% of them felt less engaged with a business that didn’t have a mobile-friendly website. 48% of customers felt that when a business didn’t have a mobile-friendly website, the business was not trustworthy or reliable.

Making Mobile Payments

In 2021, Worldpay estimated that digital transactions through mobile wallets accounted for 49% of worldwide transactions. Moreover, the entire mobile wallet transaction market is estimated to be worth $350 billion by 2026. The following are the most popular applications used by consumers and merchants for mobile payment worldwide: 

Apple Pay:

If you have an Apple device, you can make online payments through Apple Pay. Apple Pay can be used on your iPhone, tablets, Mac books, and even Apple watches. All you have to do is confirm your preferred mode of payment, a debit card or credit card, and fill in the necessary information.

Google Pay:

Google Pay is a digital wallet by Google that helps Android users simplify the process of online payment. Users simply need to link their credit or debit card to the Google Pay account and enjoy easy and hassle-free online and in-store transactions.

Samsung Pay:

Samsung Pay is another simple and easy way to secure payments. It has special security features where every transaction is authenticated with a user fingerprint, PIN, or iris scan.

PayPal:

Paypal offers mobile payment services to merchants and consumers. You can easily use PayPal in a brick-and-mortar store or for payments online. All you need to do is set up your PayPal account by linking it to your credit card, debit card, or bank account.

Mobile commerce trends to pay attention to

Mobile commerce is constantly changing. Here are some of the top mobile commerce trends you need to pay attention to in 2024 for your business:

• Shopping Apps will dominate the m-commerce market in 2024
  Consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices for online shopping. But the way they are using their devices has changed. 57% of consumers in the USA, which is more than half, are using shopping apps on their smartphones rather than surfing directly on the mobile web.
  It is imperative to have a website that is optimized for mobile devices, but along with that, business owners should also concentrate on having an app. 85% of consumers stated that they prefer shopping through a mobile app rather than a mobile website.

• Voice-activated search is gaining popularity
  With the rise of devices such as Siri and Alexa, voice-activated searches on mobile phones are gaining popularity. Customers prefer solving their problems or searching for products online through voice search rather than manually typing them. To optimize your website for voice search, you need to focus on long-tail keywords. For example, you are a website that sells smartphones. Search for long tail keywords that customers will use in their voice search, such as best smartphones under $200. You can also target these keywords on your website and add them to your blog page.

• Customers find desktop shopping more convenient than mobile devices
  Despite the popularity of mobile devices, only 12% of customers prefer shopping on their mobile devices compared to a desktop. These statistics are alarming because most of us are glued to our mobile phones 24/7, yet prefer shopping from the desktop. One reason, as discussed earlier, is the size of the mobile screen. Another reason is customers want an easy and simple checkout process.
  If you want to make mobile shopping easy for your customers, take inspiration from the shopping giant Amazon. They are at the top of online shopping for a reason. If you visit their app, you will see that there are no unnecessary steps or forms you need to fill out while shopping, and the checkout option is placed so that it is easy even for a first-time customer to buy a product. Moreover, focus on easy navigation on your as well. You can’t expect your first-time visitors to find everything easily on the website. While designing your website, look at it from the viewpoint of a first-time visitor to identify the pain points and solve them.

• Almost 50% of customers are comfortable with data being used for a personalized experience
  Almost half of the customers say that they are okay with a site using their data to provide a personalized experience as long as they have the option to opt out. However, even though your customers are comfortable with it, you must always ask their permission before checking out. Personalization plays a great deal in email marketing and text messaging marketing. You can offer them personalized offers, deals, and discounts.

• Social commerce will be at the forefront in 2024
  Most of us are on Facebook all the time. Therefore, logically, brands must use social media to gain popularity. However, one problem with social media advertising is that social media popularity doesn’t directly lead to an increase in sales because navigating a product page directly through the social media account is difficult. You may have a lot of followers on Facebook, but that doesn’t necessarily convert to sales because customers find it difficult to navigate to the product page from the Facebook page.
  But things have changed now; there are shoppable Facebook and Instagram pages from where you can directly go to the product page. This has made social media a major tool in e-commerce.
  Brands can directly tag a product on their post, which provides a direct link to where customers can shop. A study has shown that this feature has increased brand revenue by 20% across various industries.

• 54% of people prefer mobile chatbots compared to human reps
  Chatbots have been around for decades and have become a regular part of our lives. Most people are more comfortable talking with a chatbot to solve their queries than a human rep because it saves time.
  Brands must leverage the benefits of chatbots for their website because it is one of the best ways to provide customer services without having to hire new human reps. In a survey, 64% of respondents said that they wanted 24/7 customer service on the chatbots. Customers want that their queries can be resolved at any time of the day.

• 84% of customers say that they view a product on their smartphone before buying it from the store
  M-commerce website owners must understand that their customers obtain information from various channels. Therefore, brands must make their omnichannel marketing strong, which includes e-commerce websites, mobile apps, and physical stores.
  Brands need to focus on omnichannel marketing because 73% of customers in the research said they would switch brands if they found inconsistent marketing across different channels.
  So, how can you optimize omni-channel marketing on mobile devices? You can add a push notification on your app where customers can enter their location. Based on the location, you can encourage them to visit your physical store by offering them enticing offers and rewards for installing the app on their phone.

• Mobile payment volume had increased to 62% in 2021Mobile payments are increasingly becoming popular both for online and offline shopping. Customers appreciate that using mobile wallets for transactions is so easy, safe, and quick. Apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal are being used by customers all around the world, and Apple Pay, which can be easily integrated with wearables such as an Apple watch, makes the payment process even faster. According to Statistica, mobile payment volume has increased by 62% in 2021, which is more than half. Moreover, there was a 274 billion dollar payment in 2021, which is a 60 billion dollar jump from 2020. These are clear indicators that if you have not integrated a mobile wallet with your app or website, you must do that immediately.

• Every brand should use augmented reality and virtual realityMobile apps should focus on augmented and virtual reality to give customers a “close to real” experience. For instance, if you have a brand that sells house paints, you can show how the paint will look in a particular room with the help of AR.
  By 2025, the AR and VR industry will be worth 35 billion dollars, and 18.9 billion dollars is projected to be from consumer-centric industries. Additionally, 1.6 billion dollars will focus on retail marketing. Hence, brands need to think out of the box and come up with ideas that can integrate these high technologies into their shopping experience in their mobile apps.

The Bottom Line

Mobile commerce has grown in popularity as the number of devices that are capable of mobile commerce has increased. If businesses want to increase their sales and revenue, they have to implement the best mobile commerce practices. Even though the conversion rate on mobile websites is comparatively lower than on desktops, customers still prefer to use their smartphones to initially search for your products and services. Having a mobile-friendly website displays your website’s trust and credibility in front of your customers and also helps increase your search engine visibility. An optimized mobile website is a win-win for both you and your customers.
So, if you still haven’t implemented the best mobile commerce practice, it is about time you do so and witness your business reach new heights.