Mobile commerce changes face of sales

The revolution in mobile could represent an evolution in the way ecommerce sales are made. The difference between mobile and non-mobile commerce is not as stark as the divide between physical and digital retail. However, it does present an opportunity for companies to outrace their rivals. The internet is not going away as a rising sales channel, but the traditional devices associated with it - the desktop and netbook computer - are being neglected in favor of agile mobile devices.

Companies do not need to scrap their ecommerce strategies in response to mobility's rise. They can, however, become more aware of the impact mobile sales will have on every element of operations, starting with marketing and outreach.

Changing retail

A recent report by Econsultancy found mobile to be a rising power in the world of sales. The source found companies putting their financial muscle behind efforts to reach customers on phones and tablets. The beginning of an online strategy revolves around making sure a customer can access information and make a purchase from anywhere, through either a mobile version of a website or a mobile application. The survey found 74 percent of companies have optimized their websites for mobile screens, while 54 percent have committed to an iOS application.

"The growth of mobile still presents major challenges for businesses wanting to understand the impact on customer experience and its role in the overall customer journey. This task is complicated by the fact that engagement on different mobile devices is very different, for example comparing the smartphone and tablet experience," said Econsultancy's research director, Linues Gregoriadis.

Similar but different

The fact that tablets and smartphones have become omnipresent does not mean that marketing methods such as email marketing are now obsolete. As VentureBeat recently pointed out in a report about the cloud's symbiosis with mobile devices, email is one of the core cloud-based services. With providers such as Google giving end users and companies alike email systems that can be accessed everywhere, email marketers' messages have gone mobile with no extra effort on sellers' parts.

The continued prevalence of email as an outreach tool means that companies can still benefit from data quality in the marketing department. An email verification service to make sure that contacts are correct and messages are reaching their intended targets can help marketers in the age of tablets and smartphones.