It's The Year Of The Mobile For Online Shopping

Monetate, the web personalisation provider, has highlighted five digital marketing trends it believes will impact retailers in the coming year.

The company reckons that 2015 will be the year in which mobile finally comes of age as a “legitimate purchasing channel”, given that online shopping on mobiles saw some big increases last year. In Q2 of 2014, Monetate notes, mobile traffic represented 16 per cent of all ecommerce, and over the Black Friday shopping spree weekend, mobile purchases were up 45 per cent year-on-year. That is only likely to grow this year, of course.

Lucinda Duncalfe, CEO of Monetate, noted: “Mobile experiences are improving, thanks to advances like in-store and online activation with beacons, disruptive standalone apps and new mobile checkout solutions like Apple Pay and PayPal Mobile Express.”

And speaking of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this year, Monetate believes consumers will expect a full “Cyber Month” – with shoppers wanting the deals and discounts to start before Thanksgiving (in the US), and last through until Christmas.

Monetate believes social media will become an integral part of ecommerce, increasingly used to showcase new products, and to build brand loyalty. A recent Nielsen study found 84 per cent of buyers were directly influenced by what was written about a product on social networks.

The firm also highlighted the fact that new in-store tech – such as the iBeacon and improved POS systems – along with consumers’ wearables will make the shopping experience more innovative. Retailers will also be able to combine online and in-store data on customers to better target further marketing.

Duncalfe commented: “The landscape is shifting as retailers are looking at their customers holistically. Our customers import in-store data from CRM and POS systems into Monetate to enable a more complete view of personalisation.”

“For instance, if a female customer purchased new running shoes in-store, the next time she visits the website, she will see females in running shorts, women’s running accessories, and products that are in the same price range as her in-store purchase. ”

Loyalty programs and the data gleaned from these will also be used to drive further personalisation and sales, Monetate observed.