Why is it being discussed so much right now?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced people to stay home, and this, along with other factors, has revolutionized how people purchase goods online.
This situation has especially boosted a new online shopping mode: shopping via mobile devices.
Before the pandemic, online purchases in Switzerland were primarily made on large marketplaces like Amazon or Zalando. Today, however, Swiss consumers are also buying from smaller e-commerce sites that offer useful services out of necessity.
Additionally, grocery shopping or ordering dinner online has become common practice.
All these factors have encouraged and will continue to encourage more and more entrepreneurs to bet on e-commerce to do business in a time of limited mobility.
Where once the choice was only between e-commerce and significant marketplaces, m-commerce has now emerged.
Difference between e-commerce and m-commerce
E-commerce and m-commerce are two ways to sell physical and virtual products online.
- E-commerce: This online store allows users to buy products and pay for them online. E-commerce can be B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Customer), C2C (Customer to Customer), and C2B (Customer to Business).
- M-commerce: Mobile commerce is an evolution of e-commerce that allows users to purchase products or services in just a few steps, exclusively through a mobile device.
New Challenges of Mobile Commerce
More and more people today are shopping online using their phones or tablets. Mobile commerce is revolutionizing the world of online shopping with new and exciting challenges:
- Security: Since many people make purchases while connected to unsecured or less secure Wi-Fi networks, the main challenge of m-commerce is, without a doubt, data security. Financial information must be protected and 100% safe;
- Smaller screens: All the necessary information for purchasing must be optimized for smaller screens. Pages need to be easy to navigate on mobile phones and tablets;
- Privacy: Companies that leverage m-commerce have more access to user's sensitive data, meaning they bear greater responsibility for data protection.
How to best leverage m-commerce
Surveys conducted in 2020 reveal that online shoppers increasingly prefer savings offers and the ability to purchase through specific apps.
On mobile devices, it's easier to compare prices, search for products, and leave reviews; everyday habits among today's consumers. Companies can leverage this to develop mobile commerce and grow their business.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Commerce
The main advantage of mobile commerce is its convenience, allowing users to make purchases online from anywhere.
Another advantage is the increased purchase speed, as data is stored within the app rather than fetched from a server.
Additionally, mobile commerce offers an enhanced customer experience because the purchases occur on apps explicitly designed for mobile devices.
On the downside, the biggest challenge with mobile commerce is that due to its constant growth, it requires a lot of flexibility and scalability that not all businesses can offer.
Nonetheless, these are very opportune times for any form of e-commerce, so it is undoubtedly the right moment to dive in.
