Why Mobile Users Prefer to Shop with Apps rather than a Browser

There are two main ways how we make purchases from our mobile devices. We can buy from mobile websites or through mobile apps. Some brands may already have a mobile-friendly website.

But that’s just not enough.

A genuine brand needs to develop a mobile app to maximize revenue opportunities. And from a business perspective, they need to always follow and recognize the mobile trends and adapt accordingly.

Shopping on mobile-friendly sites:

A mobile-friendly site makes it 67% more likely that a customer will buy a product or service online. According to Statista, mobile e-commerce is rapidly growing and by 2021 it would reach 3.56 trillion U.S. dollars. 

For brands to be successful in selling products via a mobile site, they also need to focus on the webshop layout and interface, loading time and of course standardized and well-maintained content. 

Brands sites often crash, shopping carts are often emptied, and sometimes we just get lost in all the tabs that we have opened and we forget what we were looking for.

Using shopping apps and their benefits

With consumer favorites like Amazon, e-bay, bol.com, mobile websites aren’t the only way consumers buy from their mobile devices.

A research by SauceLabs shows that the majority of mobile time is spent using apps. On average, people spend 3 hours and 40 minutes using their mobile devices each day. Only 10% of that time is spent on a mobile web browser.

Thus, the reality is that mobile users prefer apps over a mobile browser. 

Sometimes, opening the “shopping apps” folder makes me feel like I enter a virtual mall and opening an app makes me feel more like entering a store.

So, in conclusion, online businesses should always focus on mobile users. Having a mobile-friendly website is important, but if they want to generate the most revenue and maximize the potential, they need to develop a mobile app or partner with someone that already has an app and most importantly making it worth downloading by most of your potential clients.

Stevan Vlaski

Digital Marketer & Brand Identity Developer for Icecat based in North Macedonia.