In 1997, President Clinton speaks of the early days of E-commerce in the USA.
‘’About 4 millions American families will buy holiday gifts online for the first time this holyday season. I intend to join them!’’
Once upon a time consumers had to go to great lengths to acquire the things that made their life better. As time went by, retailers and marketers came up with inventive ways of getting their customers what they want. Along the way, various technological advances guided the evolution of commerce. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television; all helped eager consumers look for what they wanted to purchase and where they wanted to purchase. Catalogues, the telephone and the postal service combined to let the public shop in the comfort and tranquillity of their own homes. However, the ultimate shopping experience was yet to come.
It wasn’t until the year 1994, that businesses found the most ideal way to serve their most valued customers. It took the combination of the pioneering technologies of the personal computer and the internet to launch the future of retail marketing.
There’s a mobile movement going on. The rise of smart phones is creating smarter consumers, creating more opportunity for smarter marketing. Smart phones are always on, always with us and always connected. In one week, we browsed the internet (81%), used the search engine (77%), watched video (48%) and connected with our friends by accessing a social network (63%); all on our smart phones. But that’s info you might already know. Here’s some you might not.
We’re using smart phones almost everywhere (yes, when going to the bathroom too), even while consuming other media (TV, radio, newspaper). Smart phones have become such an important part of our lives that many of us would give up high heels, cable TV, even chocolate, just to keep using them! They became important to our shopping habits too. Smart phones have become the ultimate shopping companion and transforming us into more savvy consumers. 79% uses smart phones to help with shopping. In fact, 70% of us actually use our smart phones while in the store. We use it to find retailers (54%), compare prices (49%), get promotions and coupons (48%), read reviews and product info (44%), and check to see if something is in stock (34%). Which leads us to buy: nearly three quarters of shoppers made a purchase as a direct info we got from our smart phone. Either in store (76%), online (59% purchase on their pcs) or on our phone (35%). Our new mobile shopping habits are adding up to big spending across the board. And where do we do most of our shopping; usually in our own backyards. In fact, finding local information is one of the most popular smart phone activities (95%).
We’re using our phone to find everything from the nearest pizza place to movie show times, till finding the nearest store that carries the item we are looking for. An 88% of the one that looked for this information take action in that same day, wheatear to call (61%) or visit (59%) the local business. Over the past years, mobile search quires have skyrocket into new heights. As we search for everything from product reviews to travel info and random Trivia that could help us settle bets with our friends.
And while, word of mouth for seeing a product in store, may lead people to search on smart phones, 71% of us search because we saw an ad, both on traditional media (43% search after seeing a TV ad) and on our phones (17% search after seeing a display ad on a mobile device) and we’re acting on it. 9 out of 10 mobile users have taken action all thanks to a smart phone search.
The simple fact is that MOBILE ADS WORK! Do you recall seeing a mobile ad? You’re not alone; 82% of us do. Yet, 79% of top advertisers don’t have a mobile optimized site. It’s important to build a good mobile user experience, because if we see an ad we tend to click on the ad (42%), visit the advertiser’s site (35%), make a purchase (49%) or call the business (27%).
Today we use smart phones to stay connected, to keep us entertain, to search for information on the go and to make us smarter shoppers. And we are going to be doing a lot more of this, creating more opportunities for you to connect with your clients.
There has been an almost 16 years evolution from E-commerce to M-commerce, so why would you want to run your online business as they did back in 1995 or even 2001?
Get your site on mobile, to reach the smart consumers!
Simplio Web Studio is offering you the perfect solutions on E-commerce and soon on M-commerce with Synappsio, in both our offices located in Hollywood, Florida and Romania!