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The market is ready for Mobile Commerce
Mobile shopping
Consumers are eager to discover mobile shopping possibilities. Independent research sponsored by ATG unveals how and why customers shop with their mobile devices (m-commerce).
The research shows that 14% of consumers already tried to shop online with their mobile phone. However, most of them (11%) found this to be hard. ATG concludes that retailers and manufacturers need to address the bottlenecks in the mobile shopping process in order to boost mobile shopping.
M-Commerce wins ground
Amazon.com is extending its 1-Click checkout experience to mobile customers with the introduction of Amazon Mobile Payments Service. It is optimized for the mobile phone experience, enabling customers to make payments conveniently from any mobile device. There are more mobile payment networks available, like Bango, but with the announcement of Amazon the mobile commerce (m-commerce) market finally seems to win ground.
Retailers contemplating how to sell to the 40 million-plus active users of mobile Internet in the U.S. alone (per researcher Nielsen Mobile) could start their mobile approach by providing shopping info via a mobile device. Recent research from Shop.org found that half of consumers aged 18 to 34 are using their mobile devices to shop offline more efficiently and with better information.
Fast growth in m-commerce sales
Global m-commerce is accelerating in global consumer adoption faster than the pundits anticipated. A nice reflection of this is eBay’s recent announcement regarding its mobile app for the iPhone and its m-commerce site which have generated $380 million in sales so far this year. With the assumption that the current pace continues, the m-commerce channel for eBay will be 5-6% of its total revenue for 2009, achieved without an elaborately defined effort – just an experimental toe dip.
Little in-house development
InternetRetailer.com found that 83.4% of retailers in m-commerce use vendors to build and help maintain their mobile sites and apps. Numerous vendors are building m-commerce sites and apps, but five have emerged as leaders. mPoria, CardinalCommerce, Moonshadow eCommerce, Usablenet and Digby are the players to watch in mobile commerce technology.
Retailers can convert 11% more digital window shoppers
A McAfee study released today found that a majority of shoppers are “digital window shoppers”. The study of 163 million shopping transactions found that 65% of all shoppers will wait a day or more to complete a purchase. This behavior may appear to be shopping cart abandonment, but it could also be the sign of a cautious shopper. Sales conversions were also 11% higher for digital window shoppers when McAfee’s Trustmark was visible to a consumer.
The top reasons for abandoning shopping carts found in a Paypal survey last July shows similar concerns. 21% of buyers reported that they had stopped shopping on a site because of worries about the security of their credit card data.
McAfee recommends three interesting strategies to combat abandoned shopping carts:
- Make consumers feel safe on every page: use transparent privacy policies and security seals throughout the entire shopping experience.
- Be patient, don’t panic: there is a risk in approaching shopping cart abandoners too soon. Merchants should factor in realistic timetables for shoppers to complete their transaction.
- Optimize the entire site: retailers should not neglect a larger site abandonment and focus only on optimizing check-out.
Australian researchers warn for a surge in online trading
Australian researchers Sean Sands and Cerla Ferraro predict a shift in consumer buying habits and warn for a surge in online trading and ‘anti-retail movement’ that could doom retail outlets over the next 10 years. According to their Retail 2020 report some traditional retailing is likely to become obsolete by 2020, as manufacturers choose to sell directly to the public and consumers prefer to deal directly with wholesalers.
“Consumers are growing tired of ‘filters’ reducing the transparency of their interaction with the producer of the goods, reducing authenticity of the goods and services they purchase. They want more direct access to the sources of goods and expect more from the retailer – it’s not enough to source the goods alone, retailers need to source better, more often and for less,” Sands said.
The changing landscape means retailers would have to fight harder for customer share and come up with innovative and inventive ways to retain customer loyalty.
Packshot photography
A packshot (or product photograph) is a still or moving image of a product, used to portray the product’s reputation in advertising or other media. It is an important stimulus to sales, with the goal of triggering in-store, on-shelf product recognition. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, packshot photographs have become the digital shelf themselves.
Standard packshot photographs have a neutral white background and ground surface. For most products the front view is the most important and thus the standard. This is especially true with products were user interface or size is important like for example consumer electronics. 3D views and perspective are applied more with decorative products and clothing.
Here are three examples, click them to see their true size:
Women take the lead in online shopping
Research by Blauw Research for webshop Bol.com has shown that nowadays women account for 51 percent of online buyers where in 1998 nine out of ten online shoppers were male. This shift in gender also influences buying behavior. Internet used to be a male concern, but women have different demands when it comes to e-commerce. Women tend to focus more on product and price orientation. Inspiration and experiences are more important here. The males however, want to choose quicker and therefore require a well-organized shopping process.
The combination of focal points of the different genders is key for today’s webshop development. Special attention for the female approach requires more focus on inspiration and ‘the experience’ during product visualization.
Online shoppers: top reasons for abandoning carts
Online shoppers cite high shipping costs, a desire to comparison shop and a lack of funds as the top reasons they abandon shopping carts, according to a survey by PayPal, which interviewed 553 active online shoppers in the U.S. who had recently abandoned a shopping cart. But the survey shows many eventually return to the web site to buy, or make a purchase in a bricks-and-mortar store.
“Merchants who don’t welcome back abandoners with open arms are leaving hundreds of dollars per shopper on the table,” says Eddie Davis, senior director of services for small and midsized businesses at PayPal. “Merchants need to remember the items that customers abandon and make it easy for them to buy when they return. Sweetening the deal with free shipping, coupons and special discounts is also a great way to encourage online shoppers to complete their purchases.”
Here are the top reasons survey respondents give for abandoning shopping carts:
E-commerce websites grow despite of crisis
Dutch e-commerce websites have grown in the first six months of 2009, despite of the economic crisis. This is shown by research of Multiscope. Not only Bol.com (15%), Neckermann (6%), Otto (7%) and Wehkamp (17%) were able to realize a growth of their reach, but also KPN (10%) and Vodafone (9%) show a strong growth in comparison with 2008.
Consumers more often go online for the purchase of products and services. Motives behind the growth seem to be easy comparison, more choice and more extensive payment- and credit possibilities.
Online shoppers are uniquely loyal
Consumers tend to stick to what they are familiar with when it comes to online shopping. According to the global online shopping report by Nielsen, 60 percent of online shoppers say they buy mostly from the same site, proving that online shoppers are uniquely loyal.
Personal recommendation
According to the report, over one third of online shoppers use a search engine to find an online shop. Also interesting is that one in four relies on word of mouth.
