E-commerce industry's success stories and reliability are the key factors determining its popularity. Customers have gained a new edge of convenience with products and services available at a click. Apparently, a new wave of innovation in the name of mobile commerce is gaining prevalence by driving new avenues for the e-commerce industry in India.
Accessing an e-commerce portal on desktops and laptops has never been a hindrance; however, accessing the same website on phones have bulged various problems because they were primarily designed for big screens. Considering the mounting usage of mobile phones over big screen computers, mobile commerce has emerged as a key to impulse shoppers.
Mobile commerce offers dual benefit - ease of navigation tools and the flexibility to shop; therefore, attracting a large number of customers. Nowadays, more and more e-commerce websites have become mobile friendly, which has accelerated the footfall on such websites by a huge number. The trend is gradually catching up in India like our European counterparts.
According to a study conducted by global financial group ING, Europeans are now shopping frequently via mobile phone, British being the most impulsive shoppers. India has adapted to this innovation extensively and is observing its acceptance from customers on a large scale. Currently, a major chunk of our tech savvy population is inclined towards mobile commerce. Various studies have shown that mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are leading to an increase in impulse buying among consumers. There is also a lot of scope for growth in this segment as only 40 per cent users make purchases using their mobile devices.
Impulse shopping is triggered among consumers due to the availability of simple and easy to use technology that is used widely in m-commerce platforms. Its usage is rapidly increasing with evolution of mobile technologies. This innovative transformation is creating seamless opportunities for prospective businesses. While adding greater convenience to customers by providing more personalised services, mobile commerce equally benefits the retailers by reducing their cost of production.
According to an independent study conducted by Manusis Technologies, 42 per cent purchases made on mobile devices are based on impulsive decisions. The attractive offers and discount coupons offered by mobile apps create a sense of urgency among buyers. Often, they make hurried purchases fearing an impending stock-out situation or rising prices of the commodity. Eventually, it positively impacts the store owners' sale and revenues.
M-commerce is a great opportunity for these retailers and e-commerce owners to tap impulse purchases from customers. Snapdeal, one of India's biggest e-commerce stores, has witnessed an increase in sales via mobile purchases in the past year. Many of these purchases might have been made at the spur of the moment.
(These are purely personal views of StoreHippo.com CEO and founder Rajiv Kumar and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)
