Is Mcommerce the final straw or potential savior of the highstreet?
Is mobile commerce, or ‘mcommerce’ the final straw or savior for the high street? While high streets across the UK have seen renewed interest thanks to the Mary Portas effect, many people still feel internet shopping is killing traditional retail. But is that really the case?
Internet shopping has also increased rapidly over the past few years, with £1 in every £10 now being spent online. The weekly value of internet shopping reached an average of £539.4 million in 2011 compared to £419.5 million in 2010, a rise of 28.5%. Some of this has been attributed to the rise of ‘mcommerce’; or optimized mobile ecommerce sites.
Currently mcommerce only accounts for 0.5% of retail spending in the UK. While this may not sound a lot, researchers have found that the influence of mcommerce actually extends far past actual sales on smart phones. A recent study by Deloitte concluded that every £1 spent through mcommerce would actually influence £23 worth of spending in store. They also found that people who owned a smart phone were 72% more likely to purchase an item in store compared to 63% of those who didn’t own a smart phone.
Mcommerce is projected to inspire growth in many areas over the next few years. Sales on smart phones are projected to more than double by 2016. The influence of mcommerce on in store purchases will more than triple by 2016 compared to today’s rate. Therefore, the rise of mcommerce may actually help high street sales. Mcommerce is also estimated to influence computer based online sales considerably.
With this in mind, it is important for ecommerce retailers to optimise their site for smart phone purchasing or even create an app for their store. This could boost sales through mcommerce itself, but more importantly through in store and through computer based ecommerce sales.
To find out more about how we can help optimise your site for mcommerce, contact us.
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