If You Don’t Have a Mobile-optimized Web Store, You Need One ASAP

Mobile commerce (mcommerce) sales are projected to account for 45 percent of total US ecommerce sales in 2019, and B2B represents one of mcommerce’s fastest-growing segments. This is because B2B buyers are consumers as well, and they are looking for the same internet buying experience in their business purchasing as with their ecommerce experience.

The savviest SMB merchants are seizing on this knowledge to grab market share by switching to a mobile-first mcommerce strategy. They recognize that widespread adoption of mobile has strong implications for how they will reach buyers and the future of their businesses. The time to act is now. SMBs must have mobile-responsive websites with best-of-breed user experience features.

Consider the statistics
The statistics alone present a comprehensive and overwhelming case for transitioning to a mobile-first strategy:

• Mobile usage now drives or influences more than 40% of revenue in leading B2B companies.
• Mcommerce sales are predicted to make up 44.7% of total US ecommerce sales in 2019, up from 39.6% in 2018.
• 80% of B2B buyers are using mobile at work, and more than 60% report that mobile played a significant role in a recent purchase.
• B2B sellers are generating higher levels of mobile engagement, as measured by search queries, site traffic, lead generation, and transactions. They are seeing a greater share of revenue that is mobile driven or influenced—42% on average.
• 70% of B2B buyers increased mobile usage significantly over the past two to three years, and 60% expect to continue to increase their mobile usage.
• 50% of B2B queries today are made on smartphones and that figure projects to grow to 70% by 2020.
• Millennials, the largest generation in the US workforce, are key influencers in B2B buying decisions; 73% of them now drive product and service purchasing decisions.

The ideal user experience
What B2B users consider to be a satisfying experience is a continually moving target. So it makes sense to use a turnkey ecommerce/mcommerce solution that offers the features B2B buyers in your industry expect now, and continually improves as their needs change. A Kinvey report estimates the average mobile app development cost to be $270K so the best way to achieve a true mobile-friendly ecommerce experience may be from your existing ERP software and ecommerce provider.

Ecommerce websites that are not specifically designed to support and enhance the mobile experience have fatal flaws that include:

• Pages that take too long to load
• Text that is difficult to read and has to be adjusted
• Product images that don’t render quickly
• Buttons and links that are too small for larger fingers
• Lack of an autocomplete feature that causes users extra work
• Difficulty navigating checkout

Conclusion
B2B mcommerce stands at the intersection of many trends, from widespread smartphone adoption and use in professional settings, to ever-increasing expectations for user experience and buyer capabilities. Today’s B2B buyers are younger and more digitally savvy than ever before, and they are also less price conscious when vendors meet their needs. All of these factors combine to make today the right time to invest in mcommerce for your business.

ECI’s Digital Services now offers mobile responsive design so that you can provide the ideal mcommerce user experience to your customers. Learn more in our upcoming webinar on August 14, 2019, at 12:00 pm CT.