Retail marketing campaigns have found great success in mobile apps and advertisement campaigns, but studies show that consumers are increasingly choosing the platform to make purchases as well. As mobile devices become ever more popular and shoppers gain confidence in using them for secure transactions, mobile commerce will likely be a key channel for merchants. Therefore, businesses will need to make sure that their mobile strategy includes shopping options so they can capture these sales.

Loyalty, branding – and sales
According to a 2013 EPiServer survey, merchants typically regard mobile initiatives as excellent strategies for building customer loyalty and developing their brand image, Point of Sale reported. Smaller retailers offer cool applications and mobile experiences in an effort to draw customers and compete with large online retailers like Amazon. However, the source argued that merchants shouldn't overlook the sales potential in mobile strategies. Up from 16 percent last year, 22 percent of survey respondents indicated that at least 20 percent of their sales came from mobile commerce. And this could very likely continue to grow.

InMobi's 2014 Mobile Media Consumption Report highlighted the increasing revenue potential in mobile commerce. According to the report, 68 percent of consumers have spent money via mobile devices and 83 percent plan to make purchases on their mobile devices in the next 12 months. This is up 15 percent from last year, the report noted. As mobile advertising continues to meet great success, shoppers are also increasingly likely to click "buy now" on their mobile devices.

"This year, we find that mobile has really become an essential part of daily life, even a daily workhorse, that has replaced the desktop and TV for everything from gathering key information, media consumption and accomplishing daily tasks, like shopping and paying bills," said Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi. "Furthermore, with mobile content gaining similar prominence as TV, mobile advertising is now impacting consumer behavior across the entire purchasing lifecycle from small day-to-day purchases, to bigger purchases, like cars."

Successful advertising
The 2014 report indicated that the majority of shoppers noticed mobile advertising and were as comfortable with the messages as they were with television and online promotions. In response to mobile advertisements, over half bought something on their devices, and even more respondents said that they downloaded an app or visited a website.

As opportunities for mobile sales continue to expand, retailers should consider whether their ecommerce software facilitates multiple devices. For example, retailers can enhance their websites by creating mobile-first designs or using responsive frameworks that adapt well to multiple screen sizes.