Blog

February 23, 2022

E-commerce Keeps Clicking in Mobile’s Direction

By Jay Bemis | Advertising Systems Inc.
When Motorola introduced the first cellular phone in 1983, the DynaTAC 8000X, the product would affectionately become known more as “The Brick” because it was about the same size as that piece of hardened clay and hit the scales at nearly 2 pounds. It also cost nearly $4,000 and offered but a half-hour of talk time before it needed to be recharged.

Today’s phones, weighing about six times less and small enough to fit in a pants pocket, may seem reasonably priced compared to “The Brick” — and they’re packing a mighty economic punch at that.

When e-commerce sales pass the $1-trillion mark for the first time in the US this year, it’s estimated that four of every 10 such sales, or an estimated $431 billion, will emerge from a mobile device, according to an eMarketer report released last week.

This means that more and more brands and marketers may want to keep thinking “mobile” in their future advertising strategies. As we reported this past fall, advertisers were expected to spend nearly $130 billion on mobile advertising by the end of 2021 — or a 26.5% hike from what they spent during a pandemic-ridden 2020.

“To align with usage trends, checkout providers will double down on optimizing the mobile payments experience” in 2022, the eMarketer experts predicted in last week’s report.

“PC-based ecommerce volume still exceeds mobile’s, so providers won’t eschew it entirely,” they added.

“But in 2022, they’ll focus resources on developing mobile offerings beyond one-click buy buttons. Providers will streamline checkout processes through services like mobile browser extensions that target shoppers’ preferred channels, tighter super app integrations, and new tech like shoppable video.”

Preparing For a Mobile Buying Experience

Ciprian Grigore, CEO of digital marketing agency AtumX Media, was thinking heavily about mobile, too, in a recent LinkedIn post he wrote about top trends in e-commerce for 2022.

He points to the increasing number of platforms on which to sell on mobile, including such behemoths as Instagram and Spotify and the marketplaces they now offer potential advertisers.

“Customers want a seamless buying experience within the apps in their daily rotation,” Grigore says.

“Browsing Instagram, see a jacket, buy it — all without leaving the app. Listening to your favourite artist? Get your hand on their new tour T-shirts. To capitalize on e-commerce in 2022, sellers should look at diversifying their sales channels beyond the usual marketplaces and utilize this change in the market.”

People may still use PCs more often to buy products online, but brands must acknowledge mobile’s continuing popularity and offer the necessary tools to deliver an easy buying experience across all platforms, Grigore says.

“Keep this in mind when you are creating a product listing, formatting your images for listings or anything else,” Grigore tells brands and marketers. “What looks good on your desktop, might not on mobile.”

He adds that e-commerce “isn’t just online, it’s IRL (in real life) now,” too.

We noticed this on a recent trip to Kansas City, where many dining spots have put QR codes on their tables for customers to scan and instantly view the restaurant’s menu while they wait on staff to get their drinks and place their orders.

“We’re seeing online buying platforms being used in physical locations to enhance the shopping experience,” Grigore says.

“Accelerated by the pandemic, online tools or buying methods are making their way into customer trade across different sectors — think mobile ordering at restaurants or click-and-collect in retail stores.

“Could this present any opportunities for you and your business?”

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