By the end of 2025, it's projected that mobile commerce sales will exceed $710 billion.

So if you're running an online business or Shopify store, you need to understand what mcommerce is, and how you can use it as an opportunity to drive growth and boost sales.

In this article, we’ll discuss…

- What mobile commerce is and the benefits it will have for your website or Shopify store

- The difference between ecommerce and mcommerce

- The 3 different types of mobile commerce

- How to optimise your website or Shopify for mobile

- Mobile commerce trends for 2024

Let’s dive in…

Mobile commerce and its importance

There’s no doubt that mobile commerce will continue to shape both the present and future of Shopify and ecommerce.

Approximately 76% of adults have purchased items using their mobile phones, so mobile commerce has become a necessity for your Shopify or ecommerce store to grow and thrive.

Some ways prioritising mobile commerce can benefit your business include:

Instant audience connection. Mobile commerce offers the chance for you to connect with your customers immediately on the device they engage with the most: smartphones.
Improved customer experience. Mobile commerce offers a user-friendly and convenient shopping experience tailored to mobile users, featuring streamlined checkout processes, optimised interfaces, and personalised recommendations.
Expanded market reach. Mobile commerce extends a site’s market reach, allowing you to meet with customers where they’re most comfortable. Plus, the majority of internet traffic comes from mobile devices, so not catering for these visitors can mean potential losses in customers and sales.
Appeal to younger demographics. Mobile phones (69%) are the most-used devices to do online shopping for the younger generation. Mobile commerce provides a direct channel to engage with millennials and Gen Z consumers who favour mobile shopping experiences.
Access to analytical insights. Platforms that push mobile commerce, such as Shopify, offer valuable data insights based on customer behaviours, preferences, and interactions. This way, you can personalise and refine your strategies based on these insights.

In 2024 and beyond, mcommerce will be one of the most popular and effective methods to enhance your customer base, sales, and overall revenue.

The difference between mcommerce and ecommerce

Ecommerce, short for electronic commerce, refers to all online online transactions, regardless of the device used, whether it’s desktop or mobile. It involves a wide range of online transactions, from retail purchases on websites, to auctions on platforms such as eBay.

On the other hand, mcommerce, or mobile commerce, specifically refers to transactions made through mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, making it a subset or sub category of ecommerce. Mcommerce leverages mobile-optimised websites, shopping apps, and digital wallets tailored for smaller screens and touch interfaces.

One of the key differentiating factors between ecommerce and mcommerce is user experience, with mcommerce prioritising simplicity, speed, and reachability. Our mobile devices are always by our side, providing us with constant access and reach to the internet, whether we’re commuting to work, or sitting on the sofa at home, and mcommerce completely caters to this ever-growing need.

What are the 3 different types of mobile commerce?

1 - Mobile Shopping

Consumers today expect an omnichannel experience - that means accessing their favourite brands on their preferred channel. Mobile shopping paves the way for this streamlined, omnichannel shopping experience anytime and anywhere.

Through dedicated mobile websites, mobile apps, and social media, your customers can effortlessly purchase products with just a few taps of the screen.

For a consumer, this type of mobile commerce can meet their diverse needs and preferences, whether it’s exploring the latest fashion trends, discovering new products, or comparing offerings. For ecommerce store owners, it can involve not only selling products on a mobile-optimised site or mobile app, but also marketing products on social media, such as using shoppable posts on Instagram.

2 - Mobile Banking

Mobile banking is now becoming readily accessible through mobile devices. From checking account balances, to transferring funds, paying bills, and even applying for loans, mobile banking allows these services to be available at just the touch of a button.

85% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 use mobile banking, and 79% of people between 25 and 34 have increased their usage of mobile banking since 2020.

The use of mobile banking not only prioritises convenience, but also improves security, as there are more authentication measures to safeguard your information.

Some banks, such as Lloyds, offer their own mobile banking app and mobile website, whilst others provide services through SMS as an alternative option. There has also been a rise in digital-only banks, including Chime and Starling.

3 - Mobile Payment Systems

It’s expected that by 2025, mobile payments will make up 79% of all digital transactions.

This prediction is completely reasonable when you consider the many new mobile payment options that have emerged due to the popularity of mobile commerce. For example, digital solutions such as Apple Wallet and Apple Pay allow you to make both online and offline transactions directly from your mobile device, replacing traditional methods like card or cash.

There are also many peer-to-peer payment platforms like Venmo and Revolut, that are unique for their quick, easy, and often fee-free peer-to-peer transactions with additional features like social integration and international currency exchange.

Mobile payment systems are also one of the most secure payment methods available. This is because they use encryption, which scrambles data, as well as tokenization, which replaces sensitive information with unique tokens, to keep transactions secure. They also use biometric authentication, like fingerprints or facial recognition to verify identity when a payment is being made.

How to optimise your Shopify store or website for mobile

Use a mobile-friendly theme

Selecting a mobile-responsive theme for your website or Shopify store will ensure that your store looks and functions flawlessly across various screen sizes, which is essential for having a great user experience.

Themes that are mobile-friendly will automatically adjust the layout, design elements, and content of your site to fit the screen of the device being used, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.

A mobile-responsive design is also favoured by search engines because they provide a consistent user experience across all devices, improving usability and reducing bounce rates. These are important factors in your Shopify store's SEO success, as you want to show Google that you’re offering a high-quality experience for mobile users.

Optimise your website for speed

Having a fast-loading website not only improves a positive user experience, but also reduces bounce rates and increases the likelihood of retaining mobile visitors. When your customers are able to quickly access your site on their mobile devices and navigate it with ease, they’re more likely to stay longer and explore your offerings further.

83% of online users expect websites they visit to load in three seconds or less. Therefore, especially on mobile where people expect a quick and easy browsing experience, slow loading times can frustrate visitors to abandon your site.

One of the simplest ways to improve your mobile website’s speed is to optimise and compress your images, videos, and any other visual content. They’re usually the largest files and can slow down your website if they’re too big. You can compress your visual contents’ size easily, and without sacrificing their quality - you just need to use tools like Image4.io, Imagekit.io, and TinyPNG.

This Shopify Website Image Size Guideline Cheat Sheet shares everything you need to know about the best image sizes for your mobile store. It also provides you with a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to optimise your images properly for both mobile and desktop devices.

Another way you can optimise your Shopify store for speed is to minimise your code. The larger your website’s CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files are, the longer it will take for a browser to load them.

You can minimise the size of these files by removing any unnecessary code, comments, and white space. However, if your coding knowledge is limited or you don’t have a developer at hand, then there are many easy-to-use and accessible online tools to help, such as Minify.

Simplify navigation

With the limited screen space available on smartphones and tablets, it’s essential for your mobile website to have a clutter-free and intuitive navigation menu to smoothly guide visitors through your content and offerings.

Complex navigation structures or overcrowded menus can overwhelm your customers and hinder their ability to find what they’re looking for.

To simplify navigation for mobile optimisation, consider consolidating menu options, reducing the number of menu items, and using clear category labels and submenus. For example, incorporating a collapsable, mobile-friendly menu type such as a burger menu can help to save space and provide a cleaner interface.

Implement a mobile-friendly checkout

21% of customers abandon their shopping carts because they find the checkout process too long or complicated.

So it’s important to also implement a mobile-friendly checkout process with simplified forms and one-click payment options to minimise this cart abandonment…

Simplify the checkout flow. Minimise the number of steps required to complete a purchase and reduce form fields to only ask for essential information. This will help you to keep to a one-page checkout process.
Optimise form input for mobile. Make sure form fields are easily accessible and properly spaced for touchscreen input and use mobile-friendly input types (such as email, number, and date) to trigger the appropriate keyboard on mobile devices.
Implement mobile payment options. Offer mobile-optimised payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal Express Checkout. These options allow for faster checkout as they are using payment information that has already been stored.
Prioritise button size and placement. Ensure that buttons like ‘add to cart’, ‘checkout’, and ‘place order’ are large enough and easily tappable on small screens.
Enable guest checkout. Provide the option for users to checkout as guests without requiring them to create an account. This reduces friction and speeds up the checkout process, especially for mobile users who may be looking to make a quick purchase.

Remember, mobile devices only have small screens, so if your checkout process is full of many different form fields, customers can get frustrated and not complete their purchase.

Additionally, during shopping events like Black Friday Cyber Monday, shoppers are looking to make quick, impulse purchases, and if this step is unnecessarily long, they’ll be just as quick to abandon their cart.

Create a mobile app for your Shopify store

To keep your Shopify store competitive, you need to prioritise being mobile-first, not just mobile-optimised. And the best way to do this is by creating a mobile app for your Shopify store. Why?

Mobile apps are simple, and designed to be both fast and responsive, which means they load far quicker than websites do.

This provides a seamless user experience, smoother transitions between screens, and instant response to user actions, which is particularly important for mobile users who may have slower internet connections.

Mobile apps specifically designed to provide your customers with the best experience on mobile. With 80% of Americans expecting an excellent customer experience, offering a mobile app is the best way to meet this expectation.

Launching a mobile app for your Shopify store is no longer costly or complicated. You can create your own app for as little as $79 per month without any coding knowledge or previous experience in the tech industry. This is what “no code app development means”: anyone can design and launch a mobile app for their Shopify store through specialised platforms.

All you need to do is sign up for an app builder service. Some of them, like StoreLab, offer free trials and a step-by-step guide on how to create and launch a professional, custom, and no-code mobile app for your Shopify store, helping you to boost sales, improve customer satisfaction, and increase conversion rates. Interested? Send us a message or learn more about our plans.

You can learn more about the benefits of building a mobile app builder for your Shopify store in the article, What is a no-code Shopify mobile app builder? How to electrify your mobile sales.

Mobile commerce trends for 2024

Voice-assisted shopping

Utilising voice-enabled search is a huge trend that’s reshaping online and mobile shopping in 2024.

With the increase of AI-driven assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Home, voice search is gradually becoming the preferred method of online search. Consumers value ease of use, and due to their convenience and efficiency, voice assistants have quickly gained traction.

Currently, 8.4 billion voice assistants are used across the world. And they aren’t just being used for the weather forecast.

People are continually turning to voice commands as a hands-free and intuitive way of interacting with their devices, even for shopping - 51% of people use voice commands to research products, and 22% use voice search to make a purchase.

With 60% of online retail sales made on mobile devices, it’s becoming even more important to optimise your mobile website for voice search.

By simply vocalising search queries instead of typing them on their phone, your customers can effortlessly search for products, enquire about product details, or prices, and even place an order.

This hands-free approach not only improves your mobile website’s customer experience, but also significantly enhances accessibility, which appeals to a much wider audience, including those with disabilities or who prefer voice activation over typing.

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Social commerce

It’s very likely that as an ecommerce business owner, you already use social media to gain exposure, promote your brand, and showcase your Shopify store’s products and offerings.

However, social commerce is evolving.

With the reliance on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for product recommendations and inspiration, there’s so much potential that comes from integrating shopping functionalities directly into your brand’s pages and feeds.

By utilising social commerce, your customers will have a more direct way to buy products that they see on social media. They can simply click on and purchase a product shown in one of your posts, removing the need for them to open a new browser, visit your website, and manually search for the product themselves.

Some of the most popular and effective methods in social commerce are shoppable posts, advertising, and influencer marketing.

To effectively utilise social commerce, you first need to create a good organic social media following. If you’d like to learn more about how to improve your social following, as well as how you can improve your overall strategy, check out this article.

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Mobile-optimised chatbots

Last year, 88% of ecommerce customers reported that they had at least one conversation with a chatbot.

You may already be using a chatbot for your Shopify store, so you likely already know that they’re one of the best ways to provide customer service. You’ve also likely seen how they can enhance customer engagement, offer 24/7 assistance, and streamline interactions, which leads to an efficient and user-friendly customer support experience.

However, when your chatbot was added, it was likely designed mainly for the desktop version of your site. If your chatbot has too many buttons, form fields, or options, it can very quickly become overwhelming for a customer to find answers to their questions.

With 79% of Shopify sales coming from mobile devices, it’s important to optimise your chatbot as much as possible for smartphones. Unlike traditional chatbots, mobile-optimised chatbots are designed specifically for smaller screens, touch interfaces, and the on-the-go nature of mobile users.

Gymshark’s chatbot stands out as one of the best examples of mobile optimisation, perfectly blending functionality with a user-friendly design. It not only navigates users through product queries and sizing information, but also integrates with popular messaging apps, such as Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, meeting customers where they are most comfortable.

If you’d like to learn more about the top mobile commerce trends for 2024, as well as how you can implement them for your website or Shopify store, discover our guide.

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Mobile commerce FAQ

What is mobile commerce?

Mobile commerce, also known as mcommerce, specifically refers to online transactions made through mobile devices. Mcommerce leverages mobile-optimised websites, shopping apps, and digital wallets tailored for smaller screens and touch interfaces.

What are the benefits of mobile commerce?

Some of the main benefits of mobile commerce include: instant audience connection, improved customer experience, expanded market research, appeal to a younger demographic, and access to analytical insights.

Is there a difference between ecommerce and mcommerce?

Yes. Ecommerce, short for electronic commerce, refers to all online online transactions, regardless of the device used, whether it’s desktop or mobile. Whereas mcommerce, short for mobile commerce, refers to transactions that only come from mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets.

What are the different types of mobile commerce?

The three different types of mobile commerce are:

Mobile shopping
Mobile banking
Mobile payment systems

How can I optimise my website for mobile?

To effectively optimise your website or Shopify store or website for mobile, you need to adopt best practices such as using a mobile-friendly theme, optimising your website for speed, simplifying navigation, implementing a mobile-friendly checkout, and creating a mobile app for your Shopify store.

What are some mobile commerce trends for 2024?

Some of the top mobile commerce trends for 2024 include:

Voice-assisted shopping
Social commerce
Mobile-optimised checkout

If you’d like to learn more about the top mobile commerce trends for 2024, as well as how you can implement them for your website or Shopify store, discover our guide.