4 Trends to Watch in Mobile Commerce
As the digital world continues to grow larger and larger, mobile has quickly surpassed desktop as the premier method to access and engage in e-commerce. Today’s workforce is being driven by younger, more tech-savvy individuals who have perpetuated IT consumerization—the blending of personal and corporate use of technology—and as a result, tablets and smartphones are becoming commonplace in the enterprise as well.
In order to remain relevant, marketing campaigns must play to the mobile experience. Marketers should be on the lookout as the following four trends continue to evolve and impact the mobile e-commerce world:
- Mobile payment technology will evolve. As mobile e-commerce grows in popularity, secure payment technology solutions will evolve accordingly. However, in yearly predictions on the mobile landscape, Yankee Group warned that such advances will come with some growing pains—even data breaches. Partnering with vendors who are PCI DSS compliant and demonstrate a commitment to credit card security will provide international businesses with a safety net. A successful international business will have their website localized into other languages for the benefit of consumers across the globe. However, the security standards in place on the standard version of a website may be less rigorous on the translated versions, particularly if they are managed through a third-party solution. It’s important that any third-party language provider you employ adhere to PCI standards as well, to ensure your website is secure across all language platforms.
- Mobile acceptance means greater expectations. As mobile apps become more de rigueur for retail companies, the standards to which consumers hold these apps become loftier. Slow response times, confusing navigation and errors upon reaching the “check out” stage are just a few of the common complaints about mobile retail apps. E-tailers need to be mindful of their audience and invest the necessary time and money in ensuring their apps are glitch-free. If your business is international, your mobile app must be as well. In order to make your brand stand out to consumers in other nations, you must be able to present relevant, engaging content in the target language. However, retailers localizing apps need to beware of language-related or region-specific glitches which can negatively affect the customer experience—like not offering proper currency conversion.
- Coming to your smaller screen: mobile video. Video has seen a slower progression in mobile marketing simply because this type of content dramatically reduced speed across websites. However, as wireless carriers continue to expand, video should take a front row seat in the marketing arena. Video content is a way to demonstrate a personal connection to your consumers and enhance the overall customer experience. As the international commerce landscape continues to expand across borders, providing translated video content shows international consumers that they are a valued market to your brand.
- Sponsored stories go global. In the past year and a half, native advertising, or sponsored content, has seen huge growth across social networking sites. By disguising ads as traditional, shared content on Facebook or Twitter, advertisers are able to integrate their content seamlessly into the user experience. The next step in this marketing trend is taking these ads international—and in order to do so successfully, the content must be accurately localized in order to maintain the original source meaning, while simultaneously presenting material in adherence with local customs for authenticity. As the international market continues to grow, so will the means by which marketers reach this growing consumer base.
The truth of the matter is, the mobile experience is not going anywhere—it’s going EVERYWHERE. As marketers prepare to take their mobile content global, the key is personalized content delivered through effective apps and highly optimized mobile sites.
