Impact of Mobile Application on Online Shopping

Online shopping has grown exponentially over the years. Retailers are facing with a steep decline in shoppers’ traffic in the store. Instead of going through the store racks and buying on impulses, customers prefer to use their computers and mobiles to go through the product catalogs, compare prices and fish for coupons.

It cannot be denied that people have moved from their skepticism and have accepted mobility in communication. There are over a billion mobile users worldwide, 80% of whom use their mobile devices to browse the Internet. The most common browsing activity was categorized under the shopping category.

Mobile applications are rapidly changing the preferences of the user and transforming their shopping experiences as they are replicating high end functions that were previously possible only through laptops or desktops. Constant advancements in mobile technology have led to the development of a wide range of applications that are used by the people on the move. This has increased the expectations of the users as they want to continue their interactions through a single device which is handy. Mobile applications are widely accepted since they can cater to a wider range of users than the fixed desktop one. Making purchases on the move have led to an increased amount of impulse buys. Saving the debit or credit card information has eased the checkout process further as there is no need to open the wallet and type in the debit/credit card information. This has led to quick buying decisions and left little room for second guessing.

Retail Banking and Financial firms have shifted focus into Mobile App by keeping the customers up-to-date on events, updating them on their account holdings and encouraging them to initiate transactions from their mobile devices. This has led to the concept of Digital Wallet which is the convergence of the Mobile World and Financial Industry. This enables users to store money digitally on their devices or the internet cloud.

The most significant of all – the Education Sector offer enhanced and more engaging learning solutions for the students. Online- admissions, classes, examinations, results and project submissions are live examples of how Mobile Applications have altered the traditional culture of going to school.

Approximately more than a million people have flown across the word making tourism as one of the largest industries. Mobile applications have enabled the travelers with the accessibility to outright information relating to booking e-tickets, location and weather. Most of the travel companies are optimizing their applications to be a one stop shop for all the travelers.

Mobile App development has also ripped through the automotive industry it has provided innovative tools that have eased specific shopping related tasks such as price check, product comparison etc. Most of researches performed through Mobile Applications are converted into successful deals.

It will be difficult for a mobile savvy user to remember the last time he waited in a queue to buy movie tickets. Various Mobile Applications have been released into the market that help the user to view the current movie timings and ticket availability and finally lead them to book tickets online.

The scope and effects of Mobile Applications are not limited to the few industries stated above. The Impact of Mobile Applications is clearly visible on several other industries which are generating huge business revenue. To name a few the industries are – Food, Electronics, Health care, Real Estates etc.

Conclusion:

The capacity of Mobile Applications to accelerate the business is extraordinary. Some businesses are also going into an ‘App Only’ mode whereby the desktop version of their outlets will be discontinued and online business will only be performed via Mobile Applications.