Mobile Shopping: The Biggest Ecommerce Trend Today

Guest blog by Vee24

Many ecommerce sites offer text chat support on their websites. The list of live engagement benefits for customers is lengthy, including faster resolution times, support outside the standard business hours, and one-on-one personalised service in real-time.

Customers prefer to use live chat over any other digital service channel because it is 100x faster. On the business facing side, we see an increase in conversions, reduced support costs and improved customer satisfaction rates.

Previously, live chat also gave businesses a competitive advantage. However, as more and more companies are beginning to digitally transform their sales and support, customers have started to expect live chat services – 30% of customers to be exact. So the important question is, are you offering live chat on mobile devices?

The “Mcommerce” Trend

62% of customers visit your website from their mobile device. If you think of your own browsing history, you realise that most of it was done from your smartphone.

Personally, even while I’m at home and have access to a laptop, I still prefer to use my phone to browse online. My email, my social media accounts, and the majority of my browsing history are all on my iPhone, and it’s just easier for me to keep it all in one place.

By 2021, mobile ecommerce sales are expected to account for 34.5% of total ecommerce sales. If you offer live chat support on your website but it’s not accessible on mobile phones, you’ll start seeing the repercussions in your number of online sales and the satisfaction of your customers.

Mobile shopping, or “mcommerce”, enhances the convenient experience of online shopping by allowing customers to buy products wherever, whenever, as long as they have a smartphone available.

Similar to ecommerce, mobile shopping has advantages that are not available to in-store customers. Online customers can find a wider variety of products and sizes and can apply promo codes or discounts to their purchases.

On average, companies using live chat on their sites and mobile apps see a 20% increase in conversions. With knowledge of how vital live chat support is to the success of your business and the satisfaction of your customers, we can conclude that it’s imperative to have an omnichannel live chat platform.

Meeting Your Customers Where They Are

Nabeena Mali, Head of Marketing at AppInstitute, says that “omni-channel is about being where your customers are, and making it possible for them to buy what they want.”

If the customer is shopping from their phone, whether that be on public transportation, during their lunch break, or from the comfort of their own home, and they have a question about a specific product, they don’t need to disrupt whatever they’re in the middle of and call into a support centre.

They also don’t need to waste time being put on hold or routed to the appropriate person. Instead, they can engage with a live agent with a simple click of a button, receive the information they are looking for instantaneously, and make the purchase all from their smartphone.

Next Steps to Gain a Competitive Edge

In the next few years, we will continue to see companies integrate live text support into their websites, but what will give your company the competitive advantage to stand out among other ecommerce sites is investing in an omnichannel live engagement platform that enables customers to connect with you from their mobile device.

More than a third of all ecommerce sales are expected to come in through mobile devices, which is why it is so crucial to provide the same level of customer support there that you would on your regular website.