Given recent advances in technology, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that mobile commerce will be an important issue for almost all businesses (94%) over the next 12 months. The trends were confirmed in the recent 2013 E-Commerce Report conducted by market research firm Vanson Bourne, which also reinforce results from the previous year.
Social Product Rankings
In line with the trend toward “consumerization,” the acceptance and use of social networks and mobile technologies is growing, even among B2B companies. Nearly two-thirds (63%) encourage the ranking or scoring of their products on social networking sites. Over three-quarters (76%) of U.S. respondents welcome social networking and the opportunities it provides for product-scoring.
More Mobile Touchpoints
For businesses who consider mobile commerce important in the coming year, as many as 65% plan to build a mobile-optimized e-commerce store that allows customers to view their products, make purchases, use an account profile, and monitor orders. As many as 56% of businesses want to create a mobile app that lets customers view products, negotiate prices, buy more easily, and track their orders.
More than 50% of all companies surveyed currently use mobile touchpoints (including mobile stores and apps). Almost half the remaining organizations are already planning a mobile presence. About three-fourths of those surveyed say they plan to use mobile touchpoints—far ahead of catalogs (48%) and telemarketing (45%). When asked about the customer touchpoints they would like to add in the coming year, the most frequent response (aside from mobile) was online marketplaces.
Challenges
Considering the dramatic changes in B2B commerce, it’s not surprising that nearly all of the companies surveyed (96%) face challenges: “Half of them find it difficult to provide intuitive and user-friendly interfaces for multiple touchpoints, such as B2B online stores, mobile apps, etc.” according to the report.
Consistent Customer Experiences
To be successful, companies also need to create consistent experiences across all of their customer interactions. According to last year’s E-Commerce Report, almost half of retailers “believed they could increase conversion rates and shopping cart values by using consistent marketing across multiple touchpoints.” Companies that do so can expect to “increase customer satisfaction and, even more importantly, secure the potential for future growth.”
