Today, users prefer to shop online than ever before. According to Statista, eCommerce retail revenue in Canada has surged to over CAD 44 million dollars this year, and this number is expected to grow over the coming years. These high numbers say sales are growing, but it doesn’t tell us what users are using when it comes to shopping online.
While shopping on desktops or laptops is a popular choice among users, mobile shopping continues to gain popularity. 56% of Canadians said they have bought something over the web with a mobile device in the past year. Canada currently has 33.7 million mobile Internet users, a significant increase over the previous year, helping us to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has made many people use mobile devices as a reliable and convenient way to shop.
Thus, mobile technology has drastically transformed the way we live today. Since smartphones are always at hand and seem to direct our daily habits, it has become the most trusted partner whenever the term ‘shopping’ pops up. Accordingly, the mCommerce trend is also evolving. Consumer shopping behavior has changed dramatically in recent years and mCommerce will continue to grow in the future.
eCommerce store owners should be aware of the latest mobile commerce trends. Whether you’re using Shopify or another online selling platform, you can’t ignore mobile users. This is what inspired us to pen this guide. We researched and analyzed the latest mobile retail trends in the eCommerce industry and narrowed it down for you.
- Trend #1: Social Commerce
Social media is constantly on the rise. Users strive to stay connected and informed every day, and for businesses exploring ways to engage their customers, social media is making it easier than ever to reach consumers.
Stores are individual showcases for businesses on Facebook and Instagram. Merchants can customize the look of their store with images, banners, buttons, and colors, as well as create a collection of featured products. The same-store can be accessed on both Instagram and Facebook, so once set up, sellers can reach a broad global audience on both platforms.
Facebook is serving more brands directly through its stores than ever before. This is part of Facebook’s commitment to creating a tailored shopping experience for users in the store section of the app and is expected to become more visible to users in the near future.
Merging the social media reach with the advantages of online shopping, social commerce provides a natural way to explore new products and brands and products by using social media sites to promote, buy, and sell products and through apps that customers already use.
- Trend #2: Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing, which enables multiple shopping methods, empowers brands by providing shoppers with a consistent shopping experience across devices and channels. As more people shop through social media, it’s important for brands to concentrate on the marketing activities their customers are already investing their time in.
Omnichannel marketing allows advertisers to join the gap between retail and online shopping, providing users more freedom. At the forefront of modern commerce, the prime aim of omnichannel marketing is to provide users an opportunity to meet their needs wherever they shop. From apps to direct purchases, omnichannel marketing allows users to interact with brands their way, with one convenient approach.
To be successful in omnichannel marketing, brands must reflect the message and branding used across their marketing channels to ensure a consistent brand identity. When in-store marketing is different from online awareness, it can be difficult for consumers to build trust in your business. Being consistent across channels helps build brand loyalty, brand awareness, and monetize multiple streams.
- Trend #3: Augmented Reality
Augmented reality has been a hot topic in the tech industry for quite some time. The use cases for this disruptive technology are endless. Mobile shopping apps are already starting to use AR to enhance users’ shopping experience.
For example, a company that sells furniture online uses augmented reality to show how a product would look in a customer’s home. This allows people to pick a color and make sure that the item actually fits in the right space.
AR for online shopping is much simpler than alternatives. Without these mCommerce apps, users will have to purchase with trial and error, which is far from ideal. The last thing users want to do is buy a table or sofa online, and find that the sofa or table isn’t suitable for their room or kitchen. You certainly don’t want that, right?
With steady advances in technology, augmented reality is set to transform commerce by providing consumers with a real mobile shopping experience and empowering them to make confident purchasing decisions. The Augmented Reality industry is projected to reach $35 billion by 2025.
- Trend #4: Mobile Chatbots
Chatbots have been around for years. You have probably communicated with chatbots for a lot of reasons. In fact, some of you may already be using chatbot technology on eCommerce websites. This is one of the best ways to serve customers and is growing in popularity. Despite the fact that chatbots have become a part of life, they have not yet fully penetrated the world of mobile. Most applications on the store today don’t use chatbots, but that will grow in 2022.
Consider all the benefits of a chatbot. You are likely benefitting from them if you’re using bots on your website. You can easily transfer all the advantages of utilizing chatbots on the web to your application. So it’s only a matter of time before online retail store owners start introducing chatbots to their mobile apps.
54% of people say they will always choose chatbots over human agents if they can save time. It’s not uncommon for shoppers to need help with their online shopping. If you’ve got an eCommerce site, you already know. Resolving questions or issues quickly can save a lot of money as well as enhance the customer experience. By 2022, mobile chatbots will be used more than ever to simplify eCommerce. Chatbots for eCommerce will continue to be popular in the future.
Summing Up
Moving forward, mCommerce will continue to play a significant role in retail and eCommerce, and every brand should plan accordingly. Keeping up to date with the latest eCommerce strategies will help your business succeed in 2022 and beyond.
