According to eMarketer, US retail m-commerce sales will reach a smashing $123.13 billion in 2016. This is almost 40% more than in 2015 and more than double the amount from 2014.

The growing consumer adoption of smartphones prompts retailers to provide visitors with mobile shopping options. If you’re running a traditional or an online store, here are 5 good reasons why you should consider participating in the exploding m-commerce market.

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1. BETTER CUSTOMER RETAIL EXPERIENCE

Synchronizing a mobile app with your brick-and-mortar stores is bound to increase your sales and boost consumer loyalty. How? Once you connect your in-store inventory to your mobile platform, customers will be able to learn more about your products and make a purchase without having to switch to another device.

Smooth and streamlined user experience is relatively easy to create on mobile. Mobile apps have simple interfaces that force brands to focus on the essentials. Add stunning visuals and encourage more users to try your app by offering discounts to those who make referrals via your app or share it to their social networks and your app is sure to improve your customers retail experience.

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2. MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING

A great mobile strategy helps to grow a business to become larger than the sum of its parts. You obviously want people to buy your products inside the m-commerce app, but also to visit your stores. Both goals can be achieved by reaching out to your customers and reminding them about their in-app wish lists or shopping carts.

Cross-channel promotion is also a great opportunity here. You can bring consumers to your brick-and-mortar store by offering coupons for checking in via the app inside your store. Personalize shopping experience and you’ll be on your way to scoring some real results.

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3. MOBILE RETARGETING WORKS WONDERS

According to Google, 90% of people use more than one device to accomplish one task.

Tap into the potential of mobile by targeting your marketing to follow customers across devices. For instance, offer a series of ads that will lead consumers down the funnel to land on your mobile-optimized website where they can further engage with your brand.

Mobile has high click-through rates and as long as you are paying for your ads per click, not impression, you will make the most from your mobile presence.

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4. MOBILE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS ARE SIMPLER

Mobile payment solutions are simple and convenient for the user. In a few simple taps they can buy a product and pay for it without having to fill in long passwords and money transfer details. They’re also the single most effective remedy to abandoned shopping carts.

But remember: don’t ask consumers to enter a lot of numerical information. Instead, rely on integration with social networks and choose payment options you know your customers are using. Don’t overdo though. There’s no point in adding a new payment option nobody will every benefit from.

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5. MORE DATA = MORE INSIGHTS ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS

By capturing user behavior data from mobile, you’ll get tons of information to mine and help you better understand what people search for, how long they browse your product pages and when they like shopping on their mobile devices.

A mobile app is an excellent source of such data – in fact, it provides you with much more sophisticated information sets than traditional sources. What’s the point of measuring only a chunk of customers making online purchases, when you can integrate analytics for all your platforms to have a complete picture?

Once you know what your customers are doing, you’ll be able to improve their experience, driving more sales and boosting your reputation as a stellar retailer.

With most of retail traffic coming from mobile devices these days, it would be a real shame not to extend your presence to mobile with a smart mobile shopping app.

Already convinced that your business needs a mobile application? Fill in this form to get a free quote for your app idea.

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