January 1st 2016 was the best day ever for Apple’s App Store with consumers spending about $144 million. This was in addition to the record $1.1billion consumer spending on apps and in-app purchases during the last months of 2015. This may have triggered the trend of ‘go mobile or go home’ for eCommerce players across the globe. M-Commerce is the new eCommerce.

More than 50% of Internet users in Asia (and 65% in India) are online shoppers. Combine this with the fact that many Asian countries cannot afford laptops for their growing population, mobile phone becomes the easiest and the cheapest available way to shop. In developed countries, the smart phone trends have pushed the most addictive eCommerce shoppers to shop via mobile. But is M-Commerce a rival to eCommerce?

There are many ways to answer this question. However, the most plausible answer would be: the two don’t need to be rivals, they can easily be partners in commerce. Some of the top mobile shopping websites were once eCommerce sites that adapted to the mobile revolution. They are Amazon, Walmart, Groupon, Cartwheel and Etsy.

Why M-Commerce is rising?
The rise of M-Commerce doesn’t come as a major surprise in the field of mobile app development. But it must not surprise the users either whose attention spans have gone down while they have lesser time at hand now than five years ago.
1. Bigger phone screens replacing desk/laptops
The screen sizes and screen resolution of mobile phones have definitely become bigger than before. Check out some major players: Samsang Galaxy S6 has a 5.1 inches screen with a 1440 x 2560 pixels screen resolution; iPhone 6Plus with 5.5 inches screen and 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution; HTC One M9 with 5 inches screen and 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution. What does this mean? This means with more and easy access to bigger mobile phones, people don’t need a desktop or a laptop for shopping. The mobile commerce websites have made navigation faster, smoother while enhancing the shopping experience manifolds. As a result, more and more users are inclined towards M-Commerce now than before.
2. M-commerce means more access in India and China
China and India have emerged as two of the biggest markets for eCommerce around the world. This has further compelled noted global eCommerce players to switch to M-Commerce. That’s because most users of these two countries including the rural population cannot afford a computer or a laptop. Mobile is their cheapest means of connection with the rest of the world. In India, since bigger brands don’t have physical shops in Tier 2 and 3 cities, users of this category are shopping a lot on their mobile applications to acquire branded goods. M-Commerce has empowered the populations of the two countries by giving them access to quality products.
3. Payment mechanism is not a barrier
While the M-commerce industry is adapting to in-app purchase options and mobile payment gateways, payment option itself is not a barrier. That’s because even when users don’t have accounts with standard payment gateways, they can always opt for Cash-on-Delivery. As a result, they are easily able to shop online without ever missing the usual eCommerce ways of shopping.
4. Most Internet users are mobile Internet users
This is a factor similar to point no 2 in this blog. eCommerce players are baffled by the numbers mobile phones have been showing and the trends that are developing as a result of this growth. The number of people accessing the Internet through their mobiles is expected to grow 21% year-on-year till 2019 to touch 457 million. Now that’s a whole lot of audience to tap when it comes to online shopping. M-commerce is the only way to encash the opportunity.
The picture never looked so rosier for enterprises looking for mobile application development or mobile app design. Retailers need to act faster if they wish to get a major share of online shopping which today is found on mobile phones.
We at Vinfotech are prepared for M-Commerce revolution. We are in fact excited to offer a host of M-Commerce solutions in terms of mobile app development and mobile app design for ambitious enterprises. If you wish to hop on the M-Commerce bus, do let us know.

About Vinfotech
Design is at the forefront of all our operations at Vinfotech. In the field of mobile app development, we wish to be our clients’ "design thinker". We look beyond the instructions, delving deeper in order to develop apps that resonate smoothly with end users. We don’t wish to be a service provider who mechanically delivers services but we want to be a partner who brings an edge to your work.