A Glimpse Into the Future of Mobile Commerce

M-commerce is more than ensuring a website is optimized for mobile devices. As technology continues to grow and advance, m-commerce will as well, along with the many avenues and options for selling products or services on mobile devices. Not only will the strategy of how these products are being sold evolve, but so will the strategy of how users purchase these products. Here are five developments we expect to see as the future of mobile commerce takes shape.

Contactless Pay

Contactless Pay has already been growing in popularity among both consumers and retailers, and we predict it will become a well-established strategy of mobile commerce. Navigating through the ease of checkout in both a traditional B&M (brick and mortar) retail store and a hybrid mobile commerce experience will be a key player in overall checkout optimization for mobile.

Digital wallets were used to make more payments than debit cards, bank transfers, and buy now, pay later transactions combined in 2020. The entire market for mobile wallets is now expected to be worth $350 billion by 2026.

Cryptocurrency payments

Cryptocurrency payments are another avenue for growth, set to reach $2.2 billion in 2026. In addition to express checkout and installment payment options, ensure your site can accept cryptocurrency payments and encourage shoppers to use their mobile crypto wallets to purchase products to take your mobile commerce store into the future. Platforms like BitPay enable Shopify storefronts to accept cryptocurrency.

Non-fungible tokens

Also known as NFTs, non-fungible tokens are digital assets that represent physical world objects. By 2030, the NFT global market is predicted to reach $231 billion. Future mobile commerce strategies in the non-fungible token space could include brand art, collectibles, or even real estate in the metaverse. Fashion brands like Under Armour and Vans are already collaborating with platforms like Roblox or Fortnite to bring NFTs to their metaverse. Beauty brands are also embracing NFTs in their digital retail space. Charlotte Tilbury’s virtual store entry grants the user an offer of a free NFT. Nars offered a free NFT alongside their Orgasm blush launch and users engaged so much that 2,000 Orgasm NFTs were collected.

Metaverse

Brands are opening for business and investing in a new location where users will be browsing and shopping for products at all hours of the day, all over the globe: the metaverse. Beauty brands such as Kylie Cosmetics, and L’Oreal Luxe brands NYX, Armani Beauty, and YSL Beauty are just a few examples of stores embracing a virtual storefront to engage users.

User attention has always been a primary focal point when referencing basic marketing strategies. Time spent by the user and captivating their interest is a metric commodity often sought after. According to Gartner, 25% of all people will spend at least one hour in the metaverse by 2026 every day. By 2028, it’s expected that the metaverse market size will grow to $730.5 billion. Aside from adopting and embracing cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens in the m-commerce space, your brand’s approach to how you pave your way into the metaverse will therefore play a role in yet another mobile revenue opportunity.

Virtual Influencers: A New Affiliate Strategy

A virtual influencer is a computer-generated fictional character that can be used for a variety of marketing-related purposes and is most popular in the social media space. In the US, 58% of users surveyed follow at least one virtual influencer. As of March 2022, 35% of surveyed respondents had made a purchase influenced by a virtual influencer. The following count of these virtual influencers is highly promising in terms of their reach and impact, with some of the top virtual influencers and their Instagram following counts ranging from hundreds of thousands to even millions:

• Miquella – 2.9M followers. Has represented brands such as PacSun and Calvin Klein.
• Imma – 407K followers. Has represented brands such as Puma and Valentino.
• Shudu – 237K followers. Has represented brands such as Fenty Beauty and Balmain.

By 2025, the existing virtual influencer market size of $4.6 billion is expected to grow by 26%.

Conclusion

Optimizing mobile experiences maximizes eCommerce revenue opportunities, provides a seamless user experience no matter the user’s device type or location, and guarantees an ever-growing increase in conversion rate and ROIs. Mobile commerce sales are expected to grow by 30% per year in the US by 2025 and brands must be willing to adapt to an ever-changing digital landscape and continually assess their mobile approach, engage with users post-purchase, and embrace the future of mobile commerce, in whatever form it may take.

About The Maze Group

The Maze Group uses technical solutions and full-funnel marketing tactics to maximize business outcomes in companies with a mandate to change. At Maze, we believe that companies need partners who operate like owners. Working at the intersection of marketing and technology, we identify opportunities to fundamentally improve businesses. www.themazegroup.com