Okay, so whether or not mobile is killing the shopping mall is a matter for debate. But that\u2019s not to say it\u2019s not having a go. In a period of exponential technological development, smartphone technology has revolutionised the way consumers search for and purchase goods and services.<\/p>\n
For years the high street\u2019s once renowned department stores have been losing ground to consolidated shopping malls which offered a retail experience defined by greater scale, convenience and choice. Now, after five years of healthy growth, m-commerce is perfectly positioned to capture significant market share from the bricks-and-mortar retail outlets. According to international research conducted by RetailMeNot along with the Centre for Retail Research<\/a><\/u>, UK consumers are predicted to spend a record \u00a314.95 billion through their mobile devices throughout 2015 representing a staggering increase of 77.8% compared to the \u00a38.41 billion spent in 2014. While desktop spending should still retain the lion\u2019s share of this year\u2019s UK e-commerce spend at 71.4%, this still represents a marked decrease from its 81.3% market share of 2014.<\/p>\n Giulio Montemagno, Senior Vice President of International at RetailMeNot, underlined the importance of mobile:<\/p>\n \u201cMobile is now the driving force behind e-commerce growth, accounting for more than one in four pounds spent online in the UK this year. However, the true impact of mobile on retail is much greater than this. Our research suggests that mobile is becoming a \u2018shopping companion\u2019 for many Brits. Almost three-quarters of mobile users regularly visit retailer\u2019s websites to browse or make purchases, with some retailers seeing as many as one in two visits to their sites come through mobile. Faced with some high rates of growth and a huge opportunity to drive sales, ignoring mobile is simply not an option for retailers in 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember too that this increase in purchases made through mobile has long been preceded by an increase in consumers using their mobile devices for searching and browsing. While the use of multiple devices in one purchase journey presents a challenge to accurate measuring, it demonstrates the increasing value of mobile to the e-commerce ecosystem and its disruptive effect on the operations of shopping malls and bricks-and-mortar stores.<\/p>\n The onus then is on brands to make the most of this change in behaviour. To understand exactly what their mobile customers are looking for, brands need to have the right tools to harness the power of their mobile device data<\/u>. By accurately tracking mobile search and transactional data, brands can derive invaluable insights about how their customers are interacting with their site and ultimately lead them to their purchasing decision as swiftly and conveniently as possible. Furthermore, it\u2019s essential for brands to ensure that their website and online storefront are thoroughly optimised for mobile as part of their overall retail marketing strategy. One of the main reasons for consumers\u2019 continued preference for desktop conversion is the poor checkout experience on sites which have not been mobile optimised.<\/p>\n However, as vital as it is to be optimised and ready to receive mobile consumers, it\u2019s equally important that online retailers actively target mobile users rather than passively wait for them to arrive. This is another advantage that m-commerce has over the traditional store \u2013 as location-based targeting gives retailers the opportunity to target consumers with highly contextual ads which relate to their current surroundings, past preferences and a host of other useful data. This becomes even more so as sophisticated proprietary technology platforms<\/a><\/u> enable great headway in cleaning up the quality of geospatial data<\/p>\n Traditional retailing in physical stores will always have its adherents who prefer the tangible interactions with staff and products. However, it is impossible to ignore the escalation of m-commerce in the UK which is predicted to secure almost \u00a315 billion worth of transactions this year alone. With growth levels that suggest mobile will eclipse desktop by 2016, the period of quiet expansion is over; m-commerce has entered an undeniable boom period which represents an unprecedented opportunity for brands looking to engage with their customers through smartphone and tablet devices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Okay, so whether or not mobile is killing the shopping mall is a matter for debate. But that\u2019s not to say it\u2019s not having a go. In a period of exponential technological development, smartphone technology has revolutionised the way consumers search for and purchase goods and services. For years the high street\u2019s once renowned department […]<\/p>\n