“eCommerce and mCommerce” – One of the leading Google search terms. Now if you are a businessperson and willing to enter the online realm then I am sure you must have come across these two terms precisely. In fact, I have seen non-techies more often tend to use both terms pretty interchangeably. Well, both eCommerce and mCommerce are different. So if you are among those who have the same confusion, you should be reading the post right away. The following post simply sheds some light on what eCommerce and mCommerce are, what are their advantages and most importantly where the actual difference lies.

So before you begin setting up your ‘hotly contested’ digital marketplace, you must be well-versed with what the game is and how it is played. Let’s begin with the basics.

What is the term eCommerce?

eCommerce known for the longer term electronic commerce is a trending concept used to define businesses that are trying to buy or sell products or services online via the internet. Some of the popular eCommerce websites that you might have known are Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, Myntra, Quikr, OLX and the list goes on. Slowly and steadily, eCommerce websites seem to be popping up by leaps and bounds across the globe. Here I would like to mention some eye-opening stats to consider, of course regarding eCommerce:

  • More than 50% of millennials are willing to conduct online shopping instead of buying from a physical store.
  • By the year 2040, It is assumed that more than 95% of the purchases and sales will be conducted using these eCommerce websites.
  • With the increase in AI chatbots, people find online shopping more interesting
  • Different payment methods such as debit or credit cards or the use of different platforms such as Google pay ensure seamless and clear transactions. 
  • Amazon will come up with an AI-based, real-time product recommendation engine
  • People have started buying from retailers who reside overseas via these eCommerce websites
  • Instant global reach is possible here –  a win-win situation for both the retailers as well as the end users.

Why are more and more businesses trending towards the eCommerce Realm?

Getting on board with eCommerce can be extremely beneficial. Whether you are a well-established B2B venture (Business-to-Business venture) or B2C venture (Business-to-consumer venture), consumer-to-business (C2B), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ventures, the eCommerce model works wonders for all types of such ventures. Further, I would like to mention certain reasons or advantages of jumping on the eCommerce bandwagon.

1. 24/7 availability – One of the obvious reasons to take into account is that with eCommerce you get 24/7 availability. Yes, here end users can shop at any point in time. Unlike early days, they no longer have to spare extra time for shopping from a nearby brick-and-mortar store and come back empty-handed. In addition to 24/7 availability, people can buy products from any location. It is not necessary that the shop has to be located nearby. It can reside anywhere overseas as well.

2. Cost-effective – On and all, conducting an eCommerce venture could turn out to be way more cost-effective in comparison to other ventures. You see here businesses no longer have to worry about paying the rent or any overhead expenses which they used to while working in a physical store. Even if you are working solo, you can easily take care of all the orders and delivery procedures. Slowly after some time when your business reaches success, then you can begin hiring people.

3. Immense Customer Reach – Since time and location are no barriers here, your business is bound to receive an immense amount of customer reach. Also, here you can consider hiring a reliable SEO agency that can assist well in increasing the overall ranking of your ecommerce store and gaining more and more customer traction. In other words, a higher ranking always leads to more and more visitors who might turn into regular customers someday. 

So yes, this is all about eCommerce. Well, the prime reason that you should be considering eCommerce for 2023 is that your competitors have already started doing it and if not then you should be doing it as soon as possible. The cut-throat competition will keep on increasing every now and then so either you make it or break it, your choice! All I can say is that eCommerce in today’s times turns out to be quite a strong pulling force. 

Now enough said about eCommerce, time to focus on mCommerce. Over the span of a few years, a sudden shift has been observed from eCommerce stores to mCommerce app development. So let us understand what mCommerce is and why this sudden shift seems to be taking place. 

What is mCommerce?

mCommerce successfully stands for mobile commerce. Though the term might be new to you but it has been in vogue for a couple of years already. Now tell me how many times do you use your phone in a day? Well, I am talking right from the moment you wake up in the morning to the moment you go to bed, how many times do you use your phone? Well, it’s quite a number I mean from reading news online to buying apparel and accessories, ordering regular groceries, paying the rent, chatting with your loved ones and whatnot!  Mobile apps are something we always tend to depend on. And that’s the reason why mCommerce is pretty much in vogue.

mCommerce is said when any transaction is done using a mobile phone or a tablet. It doesn’t matter whether you shop or buy movie tickets. With the increasing addiction to smartphones and tablets, mCommerce shouldn’t be ignored. If you don’t believe me, you can check the number of smartphone users across the globe. The concept of mCommerce was developed keeping a convenient shopping experience in mind. There is this saying that you need to put your feet in other shoes and then you will understand the real issue. mCommerce is pretty much the same. Businesses today can make end users their priority by offering them services via their smart devices and that too around the clock. In other words, from the business perspective, mCommerce has the potential to boost revenue to a great extent.

Some of the common examples of mCommerce applications include – Amazon mobile apps, and digital wallets such as Whats app pay, Google pay, Apple Pay, Phone Pay and so more. mCommerce is highly preferred by retail services, the financial industry, telecommunications, information services and a lot more. Now let us understand the working of the mCommerce realm.

  • Mobile Shopping – One of the best categories under which mCommerce lies is mobile shopping. Here end users tend to browse a wide range of products and services using their smartphones.
  • Mobile Banking – The very next category is mobile banking. It enables smartphone users to conduct financial transactions again using their mobile devices. In the end, you no longer have to visit a bank in person. Whether they wish to transfer their funds or check relevant account balances, it is possible using smart devices.
  • Mobile Payments – Another interesting aspect or category is mobile payments. The need for carrying extra cash is simply eliminated here. Swiping cards or using mobile wallets is all it takes.  

Further, I would like to mention certain benefits of considering mCommerce.

Why Choose mCommerce?

1. Convenience – One of the prime reasons to consider mCommerce is high-end convenience. Gone are the days when people used to go shopping at a physical store, in the present times’ anyone using wireless devices can shop and that too at any point in time. In today’s fast-pacing times, convenience is key.

2. Personalized customer experience – With the increase in disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, personalized customer experience can be developed for the end users. Get as much information on them in regards to name, sex, location, email, buying history, and then you can offer suggestions based on such information.

3. Enhanced marketing and sales – Another interesting reason to choose mCommerce is you can try enhancing or evolving with your marketing skills. Here brands can create more and more marketing campaigns and advertisements to generate higher sales revenue. 

On and all, mCommerce allows businesses to scale and grow in a pretty better way. Further, I would like to spot the difference between mCommerce and eCommerce.

eCommerce vs mCommerce

FactorseCommercemCommerce
DefineeCommerce is said when buying or selling transactions are conducted using computing devices such as laptops, computers, etc.mCommerce is said when buying or selling activities are conducted through mobile apps using wireless devices such as smartphones, and tablets.
Establishment19701990
Who has the upper hand?It is SupersetIt is a Subset
PortabilityNo,Yes

1. Mobility

One of the bang-on differences or the game changer here is the high-end mobility. As mentioned earlier, eCommerce-based transactions are conducted using a wide range of computing devices especially when they are having a strong internet connection. Whereas with mCommerce that’s not the case. You know there are times when simply opening the laptop turns out to be quite tedious work. When you are using a smartphone, you can buy anything from a beautiful pair of sneakers to a hairpin in a pretty quick amount of time. So yes when it’s about mobility or purchasing products easily, right in time, mCommerce definitely has an upper hand. In fact, most of us as shoppers tend to be impulsive so for us, mCommerce is key to consider here.

2. High-end Security

Another critical aspect to take into consideration is high-end security. With severe evolvement in technology, frauds and hacks are increasing at a pretty fanatic pace. One single breach can result in huge losses. Now when we compare eCommerce and mCommerce, it is quite obvious that mCommerce has a huge potential when it comes to security. Also, with high-end smartphone security patches, the number of frauds can be reduced which are committed remotely. In fact, several biometrics measures can also be taken here such as facial recognition or the use of fingerprints and so forth. Again mCommerce has an upper hand here.

3. Enhance business

Well in that case whether you choose eCommerce or mCommerce, both concepts have the potential to enhance your business. Since both of them can assure easy maintenance in comparison to brick-and-mortar stores, a personalized shopping experience with the end customers, a better approach to broad audiences, quick and right insights for developing better marketing strategies and a lot more. 

Final Words

Whether you should go with mCommerce or eCommerce, it depends exactly on your needs and requirements. Digitalization is increasing day by day and there seems to be no going back. Both are great when it comes to speed, comfort, versatility and a lot more. It is assumed that virtual reality and augmented reality will be used for making better purchase decisions, big data will be used to conduct effective analytics and insights, and chatbots definitely lead to an increase in conversions and less cart abandonment rates.

So that’s all for now! I hope you did find the following post worth reading. Keep watching the space to know more about the same.