The use of mobile apps and mobile websites on portable devices, from smartphones to tablets, is on the rise. In tandem is the tremendous growth of mobile commerce, often referred to as mCommerce. Many retailers recognise the enormous economic opportunity online, but are without an appropriate strategy to capture a significant portion of those mCommerce transactions.
Fortunately, eCommerce industry leader Magento now offers a number of mobile solutions. With the help of a trusted and capable eCommerce Development partner, along with some amazing plug-ins and tools out there, it is now easy to customise these solutions. That means it is now easier for you to fit in perfectly in your customers’ mobile life style in a way just as you want. Magento is owned by eBay, and is the preferred eCommerce and mCommerce solution for more than 240,000 merchants worldwide.
What Is Magento Mobile?
Magento has risen rapidly in popularity to establish itself as the third most popular eCommerce solution in the UK, United States and Canada.
Magento mobile solutions allow retailers to provide their customers with a comprehensive online shopping experience. In fact, Magento responsive designs represent 34 per cent of all responsive eCommerce websites in the Alexa 1M.
Why Is mCommerce Important?
To answer this question, we would rather have the numbers talk. Here are some quick facts that are no less than eye openers while we talk about mCommerce:
- The number of global smartphone users will approach 2 billion in 2015
- Mobile phone penetration has climbed to a global average of 93 per cent
- mCommerce sales accounts for around a whopping $58.5 billion in annual
The choice for retailers who wish to remain competitive is not whether to adopt a mCommerce strategy; rather, it is whether or not to remain solvent.
Magento Responsive Design
For many retailers with an existing eCommerce portal, a responsive website design is the obvious mCommerce solution. Simply put, a Magento responsive design means that your existing website will display perfectly on devices of every screen size. This includes devices with smaller screens, such as smartphones and tablets – the very tools used to perform mCommerce transactions.
Switching your eCommerce website to a Magento responsive design means:
- The talented team of Magento experts will complete the entire project for you.
- Your existing eCommerce portal will continue to function with minimal downtime, if any.
- Your layout, video and images will begin scaling according to the screen size of each user, but the functionality of your existing eCommerce portal will not be impacted.
Dedicated Magento Mobile Development
Many eCommerce powerhouses, including Amazon, choose to develop a mobile application independent of their website. This provides consumers an alternate way to make purchases from their mobile devices.
While most online shoppers prefer a mobile browsing experience over an additional download, the development of an application is still with significant merit.
As in the previous example, Magento mobile offers comprehensive solutions that will allow you to easily develop a mobile application to complement your existing website.
Thanks to an assortment of APIs built in to the platform, an experienced web development company can now help you develop bespoke Magento mobile apps with a seamless and tight integration to your existing eCommerce portal.
The most important thing to remember with Magento mobile apps development is to ensure that your branding and key features carry over to your application accordingly.
Which Is the Right Solution?
Whether you choose a mobile-first or a web-first strategy for mCommerce, the other option cannot simply be ignored. The second option becomes a value add for your business.
In most cases, a responsive website is the logical choice for disseminating product information, while an application is useful for strengthening engagement – such as offering review functionality. That being said, those who are serious about capitalising on the rise in mCommerce need both a Magento responsive design and Magento mobile development.
Conclusion
In order to remain effective and relevant, your eCommerce website must be fully responsive. If you do not have a mobile application already, there is a substantial portion of the market your business is forfeiting.
Magento mobile solutions have overtaken Oracle as the top choice for businesses in several markets, featuring stunning visual merchandising effects and functionality.
Take advantage of this comprehensive platform to meet the changing needs of consumers. Magento makes scaling your mCommerce enterprise into the future not only possible, but streamlined. Now is the time when you should start looking for the right eCommerce development partner that can help you leverage mCommerce in the most fruitful way.
After all, mCommerce is the future of how consumers will shop online. The question is whether your business will adapt or be left behind.