People are choosing to shop online for almost anything, from researching products to reading reviews to finding the most deeply discounted items or the perfect curated gift. And it’s no coincidence. As it turns out, our phones are making it much easier.
According to a recent article in Forbes, mobile shopping is quickly taking the lead as the preferred method of making an online purchase, accounting for 49% of all e-commerce traffic, ahead of both desktop (44%) and tablets (7%). It’s easy to pick up your smartphone and purchase an item, especially when you are out and see a product you want, but wonder if ordering it online gives you a deeper discount or perhaps more options than buying it on the spot. Since our phones are always with us, it’s also easier to research and purchase right away, rather than making a note and researching and purchasing later from a laptop.
Many companies are recognizing this mobile shopping trend and focusing their efforts on appealing to new customer preferences. Recently, GoDaddy began offering its sellers the ability to accept Apple Pay, enabling them to increase their mobile sales and offer flexibility to their customers. It also helps customers, who don’t have to type in credit card information in order to make a purchase, but can enjoy a secure and easy way to pay from their phones instead.
In a statement, GoDaddy introduced several new features that provide value for mobile customers, including fewer steps to completing purchases, emailing customers who abandoned their shopping carts so they can return where they left off, and upgraded email marketing so GoDaddy users can attract and keep new customers.
GO Daddy isn’t the only one trying to appeal to the mobile market. Vistaprint, a popular online printing service, has also improved its mobile capabilities. It takes only .40 seconds to load its site and browse through its options, compared to the average time of 2.64 seconds of the top 100 companies, according to a study by trade publication Internet Retailer.
Millennials are driving this trend and embracing mobile shopping more than other age groups, but the larger population is catching on. Smartphones are ubiquitous, so it was just a matter of time before people started using their apps to take care of various tasks quickly and easily. According to Forbes, about 77% of all individuals in the United States have smartphones, and among millennials 18-34, between 85-86% of the population has one.
"Mobile shopping is driving e-commerce activity. Simplifying the consumer purchase experience with things like Apple Pay is a big advantage for small businesses," said Greg Goldfarb, VP of Commerce and Email Marketing at GoDaddy. "We've removed friction for buyers so they can just tap to pay."
