With India quickly turning into a mobile-first economy, mobile commerce is expected to be the next big frontier in the world of online shopping. According to the recent “mCommerce Report” by Paypal, 88% of Indian consumers prefer shopping and paying through their smartphones.
While e-commerce is probably in its best possible phase in the country, it is mobile commerce or m-commerce that can rule the online shopping landscape in the future. As an online seller, it is high time that you start focusing on mobile commerce to keep up with consumer expectations.
Here are three trends that are expected to make it big in the m-commerce industry in 2021 and beyond-
1. Rise of Social Commerce
By combining social networking and online shopping, social commerce offers the best of both worlds to the consumers. In simple words, social commerce is all about selling your products on popular social platforms like Facebook. It eliminates the need for the consumers to leave the social platform and visit your website for completing the purchase.
According to a recent report by Bain & Co., the GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) of social commerce in India is around $1.5-$2 billion. However, it is expected to surpass $16-$20 billion in a matter of 5 years. If you are looking for ways to reach more consumers, adopting social commerce is a step in the right direction as mobile phones are commonly used by users for accessing these platforms.
2. Use AR for Competitive Edge
One of the biggest pain points in online shopping is that consumers don’t get to see or experience the products before buying. Augmented Reality or AR has eliminated this major obstacle to a great extent. A large number of mobile commerce apps now use AR to let customers virtually try their products.
From beauty products, eyewear, apparel to even furniture, customers can now try many different types of products virtually before purchasing. This not only leads to improved customer satisfaction and more sales but also reduces the number of returns. If you have a mobile shopping app, you can innovate with AR to improve the customers’ shopping experience.
3. Implement Voice Search and Control
As per a report by Google, around 60% of India users now use voice assistants on their mobile phones. As digital interactions will become more voice-based, it is natural for consumers to expect the same functionality from the places they like to shop online.
Adding voice search and control operations on the mobile app is another effective way to make the shopping experience smoother and more convenient for the customers. It can be an added bonus if the voice functionality is compatible with multiple Indian languages as the majority of new internet users in the country prefer consuming online content in local languages.
Riding the Mobile Commerce Wave in India
With mobile commerce all set to surpass web-based shopping or e-commerce, online sellers should work on a mobile-first strategy to ride the m-commerce wave in the country. As more and more consumers now prefer shopping from their smartphones, tablets, and even smart wearables, a strategy built around mobile can deliver exceptional long-term benefits.
Focus on the trends discussed in this post while working on the m-commerce strategy to ensure that your offerings are future-proof and effectively align with consumer expectations.
