How mobile apps and m-commerce are transforming the shopping experience

With the always-on nature of e-commerce in a world changed by a pandemic, retailers of all kinds have shifted toward e-commerce-first. The brick-and-mortar, physical experience was already on the decline, but has been accelerated by Covid-19. Buying online has become a daily habit, and while that’s shifted how retailers position themselves, how they market to consumers, and how supply chains and shipping operate, it’s also afforded some opportunities for streamlining and improvements to user experience. 

The app overtakes the high street 

One of the last hurdles toward mass e-commerce adoption has been
m-commerce/conversions and sales on mobile devices. Consumers were content to browse shops on their phones, but were reticent to pull the trigger. Many websites still didn’t offer an optimized mobile experience, let alone a tailored mobile app, leaving the customer journey feeling a bit clunky and unwieldy. The intrepid and determined consumer would make the leap to the company’s website on desktop, but this was a wasted opportunity for retailers whose browsers didn’t follow through from mobile “window shopping” to desktop purchasing. 

During Covid-19, however, mobile shopping finally came into its own. While the needle was starting to move in the last two years toward more mobile web purchases, the combination of pandemic-driven shopping coupled with dedicated apps has transformed m-commerce completely. 

As commerce-marketing firm Criteo argues, more than 88% of time spent on mobile devices happens within apps, as these apps are more tailored, streamlined and lead to three times the conversion rate mobile websites reach. 

Takeaway 1: It’s time to focus on mobile, on developing apps that fit the needs of real consumers, and remembering that speed and performance are priorities in making this experience possible. 

Takeaway 2: When it comes to app performance, you can get back to basics once again. Caching plays a big role in determining app response time. Most apps make ample use of APIs, and these need acceleration help with caching technology as well.