How Mobile Applications have Revolutionized E-commerce: A Closer Look

Introduction

Hello, friend! Aren’t you just in awe of how quickly the world changes? It seems like yesterday when we were marveling at the invention of smartphones, and today, we can’t imagine life without our respective mobile apps. Speaking personally, I’ve come to rely on mobile apps for everything, from keeping track of my workouts, to ordering my afternoon latte from my favorite coffeehouse. In fact, it’s incredible how much the arena of e-commerce has transformed with the advent of these mobile applications.

Shop at Your Fingertips: Real-world Convenience

Take my friend Judy, for example. Judy is a busy mom of three. Between carpooling kids and managing a full-time job, she barely has time to head to a supermarket. Enter mobile e-commerce apps. Judy now orders everything – from groceries to kids’ shoes- while sitting in her car waiting for the kids’ karate class to finish. She’s not alone. According to TechCrunch, mobile shopping apps saw a massive growth in new installs in 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, hitting 2.8 billion!¹

Endless Aisle and Digital Inventory: A Retailer’s Dream Come True

I remember when I was running a retail business a few years ago, one of the biggest challenges was space. Imagine wanting to offer your customers a broad variety of choices but not being able to due to lack of space. With mobile apps, this problem is solved! Now, businesses can showcase their full range of products without having to worry about physical space, offering an ‘endless aisle’ to the customer². And customers? Well, they couldn’t be happier.

The Power of Personalization

I couldn’t help but notice lately, how my favorite shopping app knows me so well. It’s almost as if it can read my mind. It suggests products tailored to my taste, sends me push notifications about items that I’ve shown interest in, and even reminds me of birthdays coming up! This level of personalization has been a game-changer, and it’s all thanks to predictive analytics and AI technologies employed by mobile apps. According to Business Insider, personalization can drive a 1-3% uplift in revenue for e-commerce businesses³.

Wrapping Up

It’s no wonder that mobile applications have completely revolutionized the e-commerce landscape. They’ve made our lives easier as consumers and propelled businesses into a world of opportunities. As for me, I’m off to using my mobile app to order a pizza while I enjoy my favorite flick on Netflix. Cheers!