The world of mobile marketing and commerce saw a number of important achievements in 2014. Among the most important of these milestones was mobile commerce outpacing desktop e-commerce. Mobile Marketing Magazine reports that mobile advertising grew at a rate six times faster than that of global desktop marketing. 2014 also gave birth to multiple new mobile technologies, including the Apple Watch and Apple Pay. With so many achievements last year, it is now important to look forward at the mobile marketing trends that are likely to shape 2015.
1. An Increased Focus on Mobile Experience
Over the last couple of years, brands have been focusing increasingly on innovation, whether through developing a mobile website or a mobile app. Now that the market has shifted toward mobile users outnumbering desktop and laptop users, there is likely to be more of a focus on ensuring the stability of the mobile experience. With more and more consumers opting to utilize their smartphones and tablets, it has now become increasingly important for retailers to ensure that consumers are able to enjoy a quality mobile experience. Best Buy and other retailers recently learned this lesson the hard way when their websites went down on Black Friday as a result of mobile user surges, according to Fortune. As more retailers learn the importance of catering to a mobile audience, it is likely that there will be a stronger focus on ensuring that mobile websites are stable. Now, along with improving the infrastructure of your website so that it is able to withstand increased mobile traffic, it is also important to ensure speedy loading and easy navigation of your mobile website.
2. A Stronger Emphasis on Content Marketing for Mobile
Last year, retailers began the shift toward content marketing programs focused on the mobile marketplace. As mobile commerce continues to grow, there will be even more emphasis placed on the value of content marketing designed to specifically target mobile consumers. Among the most likely ways that this will happen is with the adoption of mobile video. Mobile consumers are increasingly spending most of their mobile online time viewing video content. For example, in 2013, mobile devices accounted for 40 percent of all of YouTube's views, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year. Such statistics serve to underscore that when it comes to mobile marketing, video is the ideal choice. This is precisely why so many social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were quick last year to begin displaying video advertising. While mobile videos are great for marketing, they can also be used for content marketing purposes and there are now many online tools available that make it easier for brands to create customized videos. Flipagram is just one of the tools that allow you to create short video stories set to music using your photos.
3. Increased Adoption of Mobile Payments
As the world becomes more mobile-centric, you can also expect that there will be more mainstream adoption of mobile payments. This trend began last year when Apple announced the availability of ApplePay. With American Express, Mastercard, and Visa onboard, it's really a question of when mobile payment solutions like ApplePay will catch on, not if. All indicators point to the fact that 2015 could be the year. Starbucks has long since been a leader of mobile payments. Not only does Starbucks offer a payment app that allows customers to pay for their java via their mobile phone, but they also allow digital tipping. The strategy certainly seems to be working. MarketingLand reports that in 2013, Starbucks took in more than $1 billion in mobile payment revenue. If your company does not already offer mobile payments as an option, now would be a good time to consider making the transition in order to ensure you remain competitive. Business Insider forecasts that mobile payment volume in the United States will increase to $818 billion by the year 2019.
With mobile commerce poised to continue growing at an even more rapid pace this year, staying on top of mobile trends can help brands to not only leverage the power of mobile, but also maintain a competitive advantage.