Online shopping gives consumers the ultimate choice of where, when, and how they want to shop. Let’s say they want to browse on their commute, or pre-order their food shopping for when they return from a trip, then it’s a simple matter of making whatever purchases they need from wherever they are.
And within the world of online retail, this act of buying and selling goods can be packaged into one simple term: e-commerce. Essentially, E-commerce covers any products purchased through the internet – using any device with that has access to the internet.
However, as online shopping continues to develop, the concept of mobile commerce has taken on its own identity that’s entirely separate from e-commerce. So what’s the difference?
Our guide below will delve into the similarities and differences between the two concepts, as well as the importance of creating a well-functioning customer experience in both.
What is mobile commerce?
Mobile commerce (sometimes referred to as m-commerce) is a sub-category of e-commerce where online retailers can sell products through wireless handheld devices.
Whether it’s a tablet or a mobile phone, customers can truly purchase goods from anywhere at any time with just a few clicks of a button.
One doesn’t necessitate the other. Retailers can work within an e-commerce framework without specifically setting up mobile commerce – but it’s still important to remember that mobile commerce is just a type of e-commerce.
What are the differences between mobile commerce and eCommerce?
What are some e-Commerce and m-Commerce similarities?
Despite the differences, these two concepts still share some similarities…
Creating a mobile-friendly website
Making sure that your mobile commerce is keeping up with your general e-commerce is something that can sometimes be overlooked, but it will help to make a huge difference in terms of user experience.
For example, if a site has been optimised for viewing on a larger screen rather than a smaller one, it eliminates the customers that don’t tend to use larger devices for online shopping. This means fewer customers, and ultimately, fewer sales – something that no retailer wants.
So, while creating an app is not necessary, you still need to think about how different customers will view your sites.
Luckily, taking a site and making it mobile-friendly can be achieved with just a few tweaks, such as…
- Making sure your website is responsive
- Ensuring customers can easily find important information
- Keeping it simple – don’t overload the page with excessive information, as this affects website speed
- Using larger font sizes
- Making button sizes large enough for mobile screens
The main thing to remember is that customers don’t want to use a difficult site. To get a better idea of your customers’ priorities when it comes to online shopping, why not read article revealing typical e-commerce customer frustrations?
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