Mobile Commerce: Examples, Trends, Best Practices (For 2024)

While not new to the industry, mobile commerce has recently gained momentum amongst online store owners and marketers.  

So, is mobile commerce booming? YES!

According to experts, half of all online retail sales come from shopping on mobile devices, and the number is expected to rise over the years.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• Mobile Commerce Examples & Best Practices
• Mobile Commerce Trends to Watch Out for in 2024
• Mobile Commerce FAQ

Mobile Commerce Examples & Best Practices

1. Partner with micro-influencers to boost credibility

Yes, everyone knows influencer marketing works. And every online store is doing it. 

Many brands have created a close-knit community that it depends on for brand awareness and to generate conversions.

But there’s also a downside to the strategy. 

For instance, beauty brands seek beauty influencers to join their community. However, competitor beauty brands might seek the same pool of influencers.      

So, how can you be different in a saturated market?

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

One of the most unique micro-influencer marketing strategies that come to mind is the Francisco-based cosmetics company, Benefit Cosmetics. 

Their approach combines gaming and beauty collaborations. 

Eligible gamers also interested in beauty are hosted on Benefit Cosmetic’s Twitch channel.   

Through these gaming streams, Benefit Cosmetics can reach a new consumer base while building an interesting marketing presence.

Best practices to partner with the right micro-influencers  for your mobile commerce store: 

• Partner with micro-influencers who have 10k-100k followers in your industry or have some relevance to your industry.
• Offer a discount and ensure that each influencer gets a unique code. Track the performance of each unique code to see which micro-influencers had the most conversions to continue working with those who boost your revenue.
• Ask micro-influencers to create videos to talk about a pain point they had and how your product helped them solve it. 

2. Make the Most of User-Generated Content

User-generated content has proven to result in 29% higher conversion rates than campaigns that don’t use it.

Approximately 70% of brands believe that UGC helps them connect better with customers on social media and UGC is one of THE BEST ways to increase trust. 

Most brands try to generate UGC with brand hashtags and cultivating reviews. 

However, just reposting UGC and using it as part of a content marketing strategy might only work in the short term.  

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

We love how Sperry features their UGC content with some give and take. 

In the example above, see how their ambassador is wearing iconic Sperry shoes. So, what’s the unique take? 

While the influencer is promoting the brand, the brand is making its customer base aware of a collective initiated by the influencer. 

This mutual promotion shows the brand is inclusive and authentic to potential customers.      

Best practices for a better UGC strategy for your mobile commerce store: 

• Display a Shoppable UGC Gallery on your mobile commerce store. 
• Create UGC-based shoppable posts on various social shopping platforms with product stickers.
• Ask for UGC in post-purchase marketing touchpoints. This way they’ve had enough experience with your product to form an opinion. 

3. Enable Chatbot Features for More Transactions  

Many marketers suggest implementing chatbots. 

But statistics show only 9% of online stores all over the world set up chatbots on their websites.

Even when brands do enable chatbots, it’s usually AI that offers boring and scripted conversation that often doesn’t help shoppers complete their purchases. 

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

Recently, Instagram introduced a new feature that lets shoppers pay through Direct Messages. 

This way shoppers can make a payment without having to switch between different apps, thus simplifying their buying journey. 

Best practices to enable the right chatbot features for your mobile commerce store: 

• While “Yes/No” options aren’t bad, buttons will work better in chatbots for ease of communication. 
• Add a menu option so that customers can go back to the beginning of the conversation. This helps if customers want to see different information or make adjustments to their orders. 

Do check out: What’s a Good Mobile eCommerce Conversion Rate in 2024

4. See Which Social Media Platform Works for You 

Reports suggest that by 2025 the United States will have about 108 million social buyers. 

Online brands know that social media can work miracles. But they spread themselves thin by engaging on every social media platform.

Rather than invest money and resources in every social media platform, understand which works and which doesn’t.       

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

ErgoDox Ez is a unique example of how the brand uses Reddit to its advantage to build a community. 

In its subreddit community, r/ErgoDoxEZ, loyal customers can share details about personal keyboard configurations or just photos of cats standing on top of them. 

Best practices to choose the right social media channel for your mobile commerce store:

• Hype up your social media presence. Use social media as part of your customer service strategy to resolve queries and order-related issues. 
• Give your social media accounts a personality. Such as the Magnum Twitter account that habitually posts BTS and music-related comments and tweets. This way, the brand’s social media account has attracted attention from the fandom and other accounts for its fun personality.

Do check out: eCommerce Email Mobile Optimization: 35 Guidelines For Store Owners

5. Keep an eye on trends

Trends change every day. Even in a matter of hours. 

Statistics show people spend around 147 minutes on social media worldwide 

This means shoppers are almost always aware of different interests turning into trends. However, as a brand, it’s important to know which trend to incorporate at the right time.   

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

Aerie has a unique approach to its social media promotions. They have created a content marketing strategy that is a mix of pop culture and UGC. 

Currently, as Taylor Swift is touring, Aerie analyzed that many of their customer bases are fans and would be going to the concerts. 

See how their social media post displays products and relates to a viewer's interests as well:   

Best practices to know which trend is right for your mobile commerce store:

• Incorporate something that is trending into your copy. For example, using song lyrics as post captions.
• Use social listening tools and short-form quizzes to understand your target audience’s interests and what they are searching for.   

6. Make Your Mobile Commerce Store Inclusive 

Through inclusive marketing, brands can ensure their products or services are accessible to everyone, keeping their messages in check, or even promoting diverse advertising.

While it’s great that brands are being accountable, consumers are now starting to become wary of those that only do inclusive marketing for profit.

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

Selena Gomez’s brand Rare Beauty has a foundation Rare Impact Fund which gives people access to the resources they need to support their mental health.

Space NK, the UK retailer that carried Rare Beauty products pledged to donate 1% of the total sales will be donated to the Rare Impact Fund.    

Best practices to use inclusive marketing for your mobile commerce store: 

• Add closed captions to videos to help shoppers who are hard of hearing and offer them a better experience.
• Be thoughtful about visuals and not just language. Consider images that show different races, genders, ages, abilities, and sizes to make a connection.
• Avoid stereotypes. Google says one of the best ways to avoid it is by using found footage and real stories. For example, the Black Girl Magic campaign they launched as part of International Women’s Day featured “real Black women who have made their mark on history.” 

You should also read: 17 Top eCommerce Mobile Site Examples (Not Your Usual Brands)

7. Gather Feedback to See What Works

Knowing how shoppers will actually react to your mobile commerce store is the only way to know the product quality and market fit. 

Through website feedback, m-Commerce stores can understand shopping preferences and behaviors that will eventually lead to a conversion.  

If you see a lot of drop-offs after actions such as filtering or browsing sessions, then it’s time to evaluate your website performance. 

Here’s a unique mobile commerce example:

Lulumelons has a constant feedback button on the left-hand side of its website. 

This way the brand shows that their customer’s opinion matters, gather real feedback, and also generate leads.   

Best practices to gather website feedback for your mobile commerce store: 

• Implement a short-form questionnaire. Include multiple-choice questions and star ratings for a quick feedback process on mobile. 
• You can also consider running social media polls to reach a wider audience.

Mobile Commerce Trends to Watch Out for in 2024

Mobile commerce marketing statistics 🚀

The M-commerce market size is predicted to hit $710 billion by the end of 2025.

By 2024, there will most likely be over 187 million active mobile shoppers in the US alone.

Almost half (49%) of mobile users compare the pricing of products or services on their smartphones. 

As many as 67% of mobile users state that “pages and links being too small to click on” is a barrier to mobile shopping

In 2022, mobile commerce revenue in the US reached $431 billion.

Almost 80% of shoppers have bought online using their mobile devices within the last six months.

More than 51% of shoppers prefer mobile web apps to other shopping channels. Customers claimed web apps are convenient and have consistent UI.

Voice commerce sales are expected to generate $164 billion by 2025.

1. 5G connectivity experience 

You have heard it many times - ‘there is a direct link between conversion rate and page speed’.

As the 5G network becomes standard and as more shoppers visit online shops on their mobile devices, shorter page load times will give m-Commerce momentum.

Consumers also use their mobile to research and compare products before purchasing them in-store.

In September, Amazon introduced the Amazon One handprint scan technology that identifies customers upon store entry. This way it makes the experience smoother and hasten consumer adoption.

As the use of mobile wallets is on the rise, the bandwidth of 5G networks can help speed up the payment process, whether it’s via a contactless or proximity payment method.

2. Responsive vs adaptive web design

After Google’s update on responsive design to make websites mobile-friendly, eCommerce brands scrambled to review their mobile experiences and not lose out on traffic. 

While the update helped brands improve experiences, a debate arose as well on whether mobile websites should be responsive or adaptive. 

For instance, when we speak to eCommerce store owners, the usual questions are 

“How can I make my website mobile responsive?” or 

“What’s the difference between mobile responsive and mobile adaptive?”. 

Here are the key differences between mobile responsive and mobile adaptive: 

In responsive mode, the website uses the same layout and adjusts the content, navigation, and other design elements according to the screen size. 

It’s essentially ‘fluid’ in its structure. 

For instance, if the webpage has a five-column layout on a large desktop computer screen, a three-column layout on a smaller laptop screen, a two-column layout on a tablet screen, and a single-column layout on a mobile phone screen. 

Furthermore, whatever the device size, the website has the same content and design.

The real pros are that responsive websites take less time to develop and maintain, and you can’t always predict how they’ll look on different screens, especially, when newer mobile devices with varying screen sizes are regularly released. 

On the other hand, in adaptive design, eCommerce brands have to create a different website layout for each screen size.

While it loads, the website recognizes the screen size and shows the layout that was made for that viewport.

The pro? As adaptive websites only need to deliver the code necessary for the given screen size. This way, they tend to load much faster than responsive sites.

However, since adaptive websites create unique user experiences based on device sizes, it’s time-consuming to design and maintain a webpages for so many different screen sizes. 

3. Social commerce 

Nowadays, shopping is as easy as scrolling through social media apps. 

Social commerce is expected to grow at 21.4% annually. Therefore, social platforms are always looking to enable features to offer eCommerce brands different channels to sell. 

Online store owners use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and even Pinterest to sell products, engage with customers, increase awareness, and drive traffic to brand websites. 

Here are some ways to build a social commerce strategy:

• UGC content to build trust & social proof
• Engage through polls, quizzes, comments, and DMs
• Hyper-personalized paid ad campaigns for segmented audiences
• Influencer collaborations to drive content initiatives & get word-of-mouth marketing

4. One-click payment methods

Checkout is one of the biggest and most obvious problems faced by shoppers.

A report shows around 56% of customers expect to find whatever they need from a company in three clicks or less. 

This makes one-click checkout more important than ever as these three clicks could mean the difference between a sale or an abandoned cart. 

With one-click checkout, shoppers can fill in their information only once. 

Details such as name, email address, and shipping location are stored within the payment processor, allowing them to check out with a single tap.

In m-Commerce, brands can enable different payment methods such as internet banking, credit/debit cards, and other mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay, Stripe, PayPal, and others.  

5. Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR)

During the pandemic, Balenciaga sent fashion insiders a big black box that had a VR headset with two hand controllers. 

When the show went live, the attendees were transported from their living room to a blacked-out venue with a raised runway and a soundtrack reminiscent of a video game score. 

They could actually turn to the people around them and study their body language and wardrobe.

Even Ikea launched an iOS-aligned free app ‘Ikea Place’ that let enable shoppers to realistically visualize products within a space. The app automatically scales products aligned to the size of a specific space. 

6. Zero-party data for personalized shopping  

Consumers are very aware of security and privacy while shopping. They hesitate before offering personal data and even accepting cookies. 

As defined by Forrester, ‘zero party data’ is information that consumers voluntarily provide to brands. 

This can include email addresses, contact numbers, birth dates, purchase intent, demographic information, product feedback, communication preferences, interests, and hobbies and habits.

7. Live-streaming shopping  

After unboxing, live-stream shopping is the new buzzword.  

Live shopping lets consumers shop directly through a LIVE session. 

This way, eCommerce brands can respond to issues in real time and offer exclusive deals and limited-time offers.

You can also leverage product launches, run AMAs & build a community to support your brand. 

8. Voice search

As more consumers shop on the move, voice tech is getting increasingly popular. 

A recent study showed that the number of voice assistant users has increased to 52%. 

Phrases such as Hey Siri, Ok Google, Hey Alexa, and Hey Cortana is a part of almost every online shopper’s life. 

Furthermore, voice-driven online shopping instantly answers shoppers’ questions accurately. 

The entire voice shopping experience is so elevated because of how shoppers’ conversational queries are so precisely captured by devices and search engines that it feels like they are giving instructions to a real human assistant who understands spoken language phrases and keywords. 

9. Mobile accessibility

A study shows 67% of consumers prefer using a mobile app to a mobile website. 

Mobile apps increase accessibility for your community and customers. 

“As app designers and developers, we have the great responsibility to include accessibility best practices by default in all that we do,” - Scott Vinkle, Platform Accessibility Specialist at Shopify. 

Shoppers can easily access product information, purchase items, and track orders within the app. A retail app allows customers to constantly get notifications of new products, services, or promotions. 

Also, for people with disabilities, access to technology and the internet can be especially challenging. When they shop on mobile, it’s important the elements on the mobile app or website are easy to use and find. 

10. Vertical and short-form formats 

When TikTok was banned in select countries, Youtube Shorts and Instagram Reels found momentum.

Statistics show that more than 75% of worldwide video viewing happens on mobile. 

Vertical formats make it easier for shoppers to digest content without having to adjust their handset. 

11. Gen-Z buyers

Gen-Z has the fastest-growing economic power globally, with earnings set to hit $33 trillion by 2030 and account for more than a quarter of all global income by 2031.

Here are some common Gen-Z shopping habits and their motivations: 

• are resilient
• like to save money
• shop through different channels   
• influenced by social media and pop culture 
• attracted to brands that are quirky and ethical
• appreciate transparency and will find out if brands are dishonest or green-washing
• cares a lot about society and issues such as sustainability, mental health, and inclusivity.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is mobile commerce marketing?

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) marketing is the act of letting customers to use mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets to complete online transactions.

eCommerce brands can improve mobile commerce performance by delivering an exceptional mobile experience, optimizing their website for organic search, and offering multiple payment methods.

2. What is the difference between eCommerce and m-Commerce?

eCommerce involves buying products using a desktop or laptop computer through a website. 

m-Commerce involves buying products using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. This type of commerce relies on mobile-optimized websites or applications to conduct transactions.

Consequently, the main difference between eCommerce and mCommerce is the device used to access and conduct transactions. eCommerce primarily uses desktop or laptop computers, while mCommerce uses mobile devices.

3. What are the benefits of m-Commerce?

There are several benefits of m-Commerce, which have led to its rapid growth and popularity in recent years. 

Here are some benefits of m-Commerce:

• Convenience: One of the biggest advantages of m-Commerce is that it allows customers to shop from anywhere, at any time, using their mobile devices. 
• Personalization: m-Commerce allows for personalized and targeted marketing and promotions based on the customer's location, purchase history, and preferences. 
• Faster transactions: Mobile devices are typically faster and more responsive than desktop or laptop computers, allowing for faster transaction processing and checkout.
• Cost-effective: m-Commerce can be more cost effective for businesses than traditional eCommerce, as it often requires less investment in infrastructure and can be easily integrated with existing systems.
• Increased customer engagement: With features such as push notifications and location-based services, m-Commerce can help businesses stay connected with their customers and build stronger relationships.
• Competitive advantage: By offering a mobile-optimized shopping experience, businesses can gain a competitive advantage in the market and attract more customers.

4. What are the types of m-Commerce?

Mobile commerce doesn’t just mean using mobile-friendly websites but also tapping into other technology. Here are the three main types of mobile commerce:

• Mobile Shopping: This is when shoppers buy product through eCommerce websites, Android and iOS shopping apps, social media platforms, and marketplaces.‍
• Mobile Banking: This usually occurs through a dedicated mobile app. Online banking m-commerce apps allow shoppers to directly make deposits, pay bills, and initiate mobile money transfers with the use of mobile devices.‍
• Mobile Payments: This includes the ability to make payments online, as well as contactless payments offline in brick and mortar locations. Apps such as Think Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, Samsung Pay also called as “digital wallets” or “mobile wallets” work like credit cards or debit cards.

Further reading on mobile commerce:

Brilliant Tactics to Increase Mobile Conversion Rate in 2024

Build the Perfect Mobile Product Page (Proven Ideas)

How to Write Product Descriptions for Mobile: Proven Ideas & Examples

High-Converting Mobile Landing Page Examples to Inspire Yours

Mobile Product Page Breadcrumbs: Common Mistakes & Brilliant Ideas

Mobile Cart Page: Brilliant Examples & Why They Work

Make your Mobile Payment Page “Conversion-Friendly” 

20 Amazing & High Converting Mobile Checkout Examples

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