Retailers and customers are both familiar with the term “e-commerce,” but they are curious to learn more about the rising industry buzzword “m-commerce.” Although online purchases are at the heart of both e-commerce and m-commerce, there are several key distinctions between the two business models.

Companies, especially those in the business-to-consumer (B2C) space, have been attempting to establish an online presence. Considering that 4.54 billion people, or 59% of the world’s population, use the internet, falling behind is not a wise move. Because digital shopping carts make ordering things convenient, online retailers such as Amazon have thrived.

Another change in online buying is being felt by consumers as smartphones and high-speed mobile connectivity get better. The advent of apps that enable internet buying while on the road is driving changes in the digital retail scene. More e-commerce apps are being developed as a result of this phenomena.

What differences exist between e-commerce and m-commerce?

What is E-commerce? 

E-commerce or electronic commerce refers to the process of buying and selling on the internet. The birth of e-commerce is believed to occur in 1994, with the first purchase made over the internet in Philadelphia. Generally, e-commerce points to online buying activities that happen over a computer or laptop. 

While names like Amazon pops up when e-commerce is mentioned, the commodities sold online are not limited to physical products. E-commerce also applies to digital products, memberships, or services that are transacted over the Internet.E-commerce trends & stats

In 2022, the e-commerce market was worth a whopping $5.5 trillion globally. And it’s continuing to grow! The global e-commerce market is expected to hit $7.3 trillion by the end of 2025.

The top 5 e-commerce sectors in the U.S. in 2021 were:

• Cosmetics – $87.4 billion
• Fashion – $180.5 billion
• Electronics – $161 billion
• Furniture – $132.7 billion
• Hobby & DIY – $105.6 billion

What is M-commerce?  

M-commerce refers to online payment transactions that happen over a mobile device. The advancement of mobile connectivity, security, and apps development has spurred retailers to offer services, products, and payment gateways over the smartphone. The m-commerce trend is also spurred by the increasing population that own smartphones.

Online spending driven by m-commerce in the US has been increasing steadily for the past few years. In 2022, the total revenue driven by transaction over the mobile is expected to hit $423.24 million. The positive trend will see more retailers jostling for a space in the consumer’s mobile phones. 

Online spending driven by m-commerce in the US has been increasing steadily for the past few years. In 2022, the total revenue driven by transaction over the mobile was expected to hit $423.24 million. The positive trend will see more retailers jostling for a space in the consumer’s mobile phones.

Shopify recently posted the study that says that mobile commerce volume is expected to hit $620.97 billion by 2024. This means nearly half (42.9%) of all e-commerce purchases will be made via a mobile device. For all e-Commerce business owners it means one thing – developing a m-commerce app is a must for guaranteeing an outstanding customer experience and making their business profitable.

Differences Between M-commerce and E-commerce

The future of commerce will be mobile, and m-commerce is growing in popularity. However, knowing the distinctions between m- and e-commerce can help you stay competitive and more effectively reach your target audience. Now let’s examine the differences between m-commerce and e-commerce.

1. Mobility

E-commerce is performed over computers and laptops with internet connections. Such technologies were once marveled at, but with users turning to mobile phones, computers become severely lacking in mobility.

It is tedious to flip open your laptop just to order a pair of sneakers online. However, shoppers can easily whip up their mobile phone and start browsing for the right products on an m-commerce app. 

The difference between the ability to make purchases easily on the spot and logging into an e-commerce website later favors retailers with e-commerce apps. Impulsive shoppers are also better targeted by means of instant access to the shopping cart. 

With the introduction of mobile payment wallets like Apple Pay and Android Pay, mobile users are given more choices to make instantaneous transactions on the spot. 

2. Push Notification

Another obvious advantage m-commerce has over e-commerce development is the use of push notification on mobile phones. Compared to blasting promotional letters to the email list, push notifications are perceived to be less intrusive. 

From a retailer point of view, push notifications are deemed to be more effective. Promotion emails risk being delivered to the spam folder or ignored by users. Push notification, on the other hand, is delivered instantly to the user’s mobile.

Today, push notifications can also include beautifully-rendered images of the products, which leads the users to the m-commerce app with a single touch. With an average opt-in rate of 67.5%, the chances of getting the attention of users with push notification are high. One more point for m-commerce.  

3. Location tracking

The only metric used to track e-commerce shoppers on computers is the IP address. The IP of computers gives a loose indication of the whereabouts of shoppers and is limited in terms of locational advertising strategies. 

On the other hand, m-commerce leverage on the various positional tracking technologies on the mobile phones of users, such as GPS, WiFi, and cellular connections. The accuracy of the location can be used by retailers to alert users of promotions within their vicinity. 

For example, a retail outlet that is having an on-going sales can send notifications to users within a 5-miles radius. A fitness gym could target consumers in the vicinity with yearly membership signups by piggy-backing on a navigational app.  

4. Security 

According to Shift Processing, credit card frauds increased by 18.5% in 2018 and resulted in a loss of a whopping $24.26 billion. The e-commerce platform, which is mostly transacted over credit cards, puts the financial safety of users at stake.

Read Also: The Role of Mobile Apps in Mobile Commerce

Even without massive breaches of credit card data, the accounts of e-commerce shoppers aren’t exactly safe. The security provided by a username and password isn’t the best protection against modern-day hackers.

M-commerce, where transactions are conducted over a mobile phone, has the potential to incorporate better security. The use of phone identification as a second layer of security removes the possibility of a fraud committed remotely. 

For additional security measures, existing biometrics technologies such as facial recognition or iris-scanning can be introduced as an option in the m-commerce app. And m-commerce wins one more time.

5. Omnichannel 

There is a shift in multi-channel to omnichannel in the online retailing industry. Brands are expected to provide a seamless shopping experience instead of targetting different demographics with different messages.

E-commerce, which is highly dependent on computers, is limited in the sense that it has lesser mobility. Meanwhile, m-commerce has found itself in the right position, to close the gaps between brands and consumers.

Mobile apps technologies have allowed better engagement with retailers and consumers. It will enable personalization and a customized shopping experience that is unique to users. Retailers are also able to immediately respond to the needs of a shopper and suggest recommendations, which results in higher conversion. 

All commercial digital transactions are referred to as electronic commerce, or e-commerce, whereas some commercial digital transactions done using a mobile device are referred to as m-commerce. Given that mobile commerce is a subset of e-commerce, comparing the two is a little awkward. The location of a transaction is the primary feature that sets one apart from the other.

E-commerce refers to any commercial digital transaction, whereas m-commerce denotes transactions conducted using mobile applications and/or browsers. Another difference is that m-commerce has no restrictions regarding the place and the time of the purchase. An internet connection and a mobile device are the only requirements.

How Does M-commerce Benefits Your Business?

Moving to mobile commerce might be intimidating for company owners accustomed to traditional e-commerce platforms. However, there are proven benefits that will make the transition worthy in every business sense.

Gain Better Customer Insights

Understanding the behavior of shoppers is a necessity for retailers to remain competitive in their respective niche. Mobile apps, which are a crucial component of m-commerce, allows retailers to collect crucial information of the users. Consumer-oriented data such as browsing behavior, shopping interests, and time spent on the app are helpful analytics. 

With the rise of big data and AI, retailers can send better-targeted promotions that are more likely to engage and convert. The historical data collected also helps retailers to strengthen their branding efforts by prioritizing elements that resonate with their shoppers. 

Give More Payment Options

In addition to credit and debit cards, when you develop an m-commerce app, your customers get access to so many various payment options like:

• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Amazon Pay
• PayPal Express
• Visa Checkout
• Shop Pay

These services make it easier for your customers to make a purchase on their devices. Your responsibility here is to implement them correctly and secure the payment process. If you need assistance here, Uptech developers are ready to help you with the development. We have implemented payment systems for fintech, m-commerce, healthcare, and real-estate products, so we know all the ins and outs of it.

Increases Revenue

All the numbers point to the potential of revenue increase when m-commerce is put to proper use. According to Oberlo, global m-commerce revenue is expected to hit $2.91 trillion in 2020, which is a remarkable 25.4% increase than the previous year.

Internet users are spending more of their time on mobile phones, and shopping for products is a few touches away. Besides that, push notifications with tailor-made promotions draw users’ attention and lead to better conversion.

M-commerce also encourages purchases. The checkout process is more straightforward, where users can complete checkout with a few touches on the screen. Naturally, this would lead to more sales and less discarded shopping carts. 

Enhance Customer Experience

The secret to a thriving business is to keep its customers continuously engaged. In other words, your customers need to perceive that they are given the best experience ever. This goes beyond the ability to browse and shop at any place or time. 

M-commerce enhances the customer experience by increasing the availability of support to customers. A responsive live-chat on the app or the ease of refunds and exchange could strengthen brand loyalty amongst customers. 

Personalization, whether in the form of product listings or promotions, gives off the perception of a caring brand. This is made possible with the combination of the mobile app, analytics, and locational information on an m-commerce ecosystem. 

Reduce Cost

Spendings on ads placements, whether physically or digitally, is also reduced with m-commerce. With direct reach to customers, the latest offerings and messages can be delivered through the mobile app or push notification. 

Once perceived as exorbitant, the cost of app-development has decreased as there are development tools that help simplify the process. With the reduction of ads-budget, businesses can achieve a lower cost of acquisition and retainment of customers. 

Challenges of M-commerce

Security concerns

Security concerns within the mobile commerce landscape come from a few different angles. The two most vulnerable components of m-commerce are certainly the online payments security issues and the security of the mobile application itself.

Known and emerging fraud revolving around m-commerce makes for a hostile environment demanding proper security measures to be in place. In terms of mobile applications, reverse engineering, malicious code injections, application hooking, and jailbreaking pose a threat both for the application owner as well as the application user.

Following, payment security issues in the form of man-in-the-middle attacks, account takeover and unprotected financial and personal information are also in question..

Streamlining the user experience

The rapid growth of m-commerce also means a rapid change in trends. From tailored communication and numerous mobile commerce features to highly sophisticated technology such as AR being implemented within m-commerce – it is quite hard to keep up.

Also, with high competition and an abundance of similar products with similar prices available on the market, there is a scarce amount of differentiators. One of them is the user experience which demands constant analytics tracking and following present industry trends. Besides being time-consuming, this activity often comes in the form of a financial investment.

Mobile apps vs. Responsive websites

Another dilemma merchants are struggling with is whether to approach the market with a responsive website or a dedicated mobile application. A general recommendation is to invest in building a dedicated m-commerce application. However, this option requires a heftier budget. This is why many mobile merchants first launch a responsive website to test the waters and later consider a mobile app if the website doesn’t suit their business needs.

Bottom Line

It is inevitable that e-commerce will give way to mobile commerce. Companies who don’t want to get on board will be the ones losing out. M-commerce provides enhanced personalization, engagement, and connectivity. It translates for businesses into increased sales, more recognizable brands, and satisfying consumer experiences.