What is m-commerce? Advantages, Disadvantages, and must-have features.

Mobile commerce, popularly known as m-commerce, is a medium that helps people buy and sell goods and services through their smartphones and tablets. In simple words, m-commerce means any monetary transaction completed using a mobile device. Kevin Duffy introduced this term in 1997. Some examples of m-commerce include purchasing, e-commerce apps such as Flipkart, and Amazon, or digital wallet apps such as Paytm, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Android apps.

According to the report, spending through mobile devices, the total eCommerce sales accounts for 34.5%, and the number is still growing. It is the most rapidly growing sector of e-commerce, and web app development companies play a vital role in developing a robust, interactive, and feature-rich application. In India, approximately more than 70% of online transactions happen from mobile phones, and it is a 700 billion-dollar industry all across the globe. The most affected industries by m-commerce include financial service, telecommunications, service and retail, information service, and many more. 

Here, in this article, we will discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and must-have features of m-commerce.  

Advantages of M-commerce:

1. Provide easy store access

No doubt, M-commerce websites, and apps help customers to explore the product available in the market. They don’t need to travel to the store to purchase any goods or services of their needs. They can buy their product online with their smartphone or tablets. This helps to save their efforts, time, and money.

2. The large order processing platform

M-commerce allows store owners to sell numerous products or services at once throughout the day. As customers don’t need to go through a checkout line for any transaction that takes so much time. A customer can easily log onto any platform and purchase anything or everything according to their requirements.

3. Better user experience

User experience matters the most in e-commerce as there is no possibility of direct contact in this kind of shopping. In today’s era, people are so well acquainted with their smartphones or tablets. And, they know precisely how to search for or purchase the desired products or services of their need in just some simple clicks. Not only does m-commerce provide a better user experience, but also it saves time too. To provide a smooth user experience, make sure your mobile app is fast, convenient, interactive, and exclusive. This will also help you to make your eCommerce business successful.

4. Higher ROI

According to Google reports, approximately 67% of people prefer to purchase any product or service from a mobile-friendly e-commerce site. And, about 61% of people move away from a website that is not mobile-friendly. Even though your product explicitly states it\’s benefits, but a word of mouth marketing boosts sales. When a customer using your product, gives their review offline or online, they motivate other potential customers. Since this type of marketing is free, it generates more profit and covers the cost of upgrading your eCommerce site.

Disadvantages of m-commerce :

1. It requires technology access

What if a customer doesn’t have a smartphone? Well, if a customer doesn’t have a smartphone or tablet, then he can’t leverage the m-commerce service that most business provides. If a customer has a smartphone, then also it must be able to retrieve company information and transmit a sales order. So that the user can get a brilliant experience. 

2. High competition

M-commerce creates a global market, so the competition for any product or service becomes automatically super high. There are numerous m-commerce apps available all across the globe that provide precisely the same service you provide. As you are not the only provider in your community, it takes a lot of time and effort to build up sales from mobile commerce.

3. Requires fast service at all times

It requires a fast service to engage potential audiences. With m-commerce, you have to provide quick service at all times, no matter what. According to the report, customers will stop using an app or website that takes more than 10 seconds to load the information.

You must be vigilant enough to maintain your mobile platform to avoid issues that could cost some business.

Must-have Features of an M-commerce application

Add Analytics and Information- In the world of big data, analyzing and recording the data is one of the essential features that you must embed in the application. Analytics helps you to make the necessary changes in the decision, and it also allows users to compare and make the right decision. With the help of data analytics, you can understand user behavior and can improve the user experience significantly. To offer useful, delightful interaction, and easy-to-use m-commerce applications, make sure that you hire the best UX design company in India. 

1. Log in with Social Media Account

Another critical feature that you should consider while developing an m-commerce application is providing a simple and easy log-in option. Offering a Social Media log-in option, users can seamlessly register themselves within the app without any fuss. This system will also help you to get the required information about your potential audience. 

2. Push Notification

One of the most compelling features is incorporating push notifications, which helps you to reach out to every potential user with an immediate effect. With push notifications, you can inform your users about promotions, discounts, sales, and other marketing activities that give you beneficial results. Customers can get all the latest updates about your m-commerce application. From the perspective of business growth, push notifications are helpful.

3. Search and Filter Option

Must include advanced search and filter option features in your m-commerce application to offer a seamless experience to the users. With the help of an advanced search option, users can search the product based on their needs, which saves the users time. 

Filters are an extension to search the target product or similar ones when applying the filter option, either individually or in combinations.

Wrapping Up

If you are planning to develop an m-commerce mobile application, it is necessary to offer an amazing experience with all the critical elements. A great experience is a soul of shopping for users. 

According to Business Insider, it is expected that m-commerce volume to rise at a 25.5% CAGR from 2019 to hit $488.0 billion in 2024. Smartphones and Tablets are driving the m-commerce revolution. Are you looking for a top mobile app development company in India? Share your app idea with us and take your business to a new level!