Mobile commerce: rapid increase in mobile users

More and more people are shopping via smartphone. Even ricardo.ch now registers more than a third of accesses via mobile devices.Increasingly powerful networks and smartphones are speeding up communication and driving mobile data traffic. According to current studies, every second cell phone will soon be a smartphone and mobile data traffic in Western Europe will increase 7-fold by 2018.Advertising companies and retailers have also recognized the signs of the times and are increasingly relying on mobile websites, online stores, coupons, QR codes or apps for brand communication and sales.More than one-third mobile accesses at ricardo.chThe online marketplace ricardo.ch already records significant shares of sales via the mobile channel: "We can clearly see the rapid increase in mobile users. In 2011, the share of mobile access to ricardo.ch was still just eight percent. Now, more than a third of our members regularly access ricardo.ch via a mobile device," explains Managing Director Yves Mäder.In his opinion, this development will continue in the coming years: mobile access will continue to increase and will certainly soon exceed 50 percent."Rapid proliferation of smartphones took me by surprise"Such a development could not have been foreseen just a few years ago: "In addition to the rapid spread of smartphones, what surprised me most was how quickly smartphones or even tablets have become an integral part of our everyday lives: Whether I'm checking my next train connections, checking the news, answering e-mails or making a purchase while I'm out and about, many people now take all this for granted.Challenge of mobile-optimized websites, apps and responsive designIt is fundamental for the online marketplace to respond to user behavior and the needs of its members, and to gear future solutions to mobile use as well, according to Mäder, who will speak on April 9 at the Trade fair Swiss Online Marketing will provide insights into the mobile consumer behavior of the Swiss and into the mobile strategy of ricardo.ch.This is above all a dynamic process, reports the Managing Director. "For a modern mobile-accessible online marketplace, as well as for online stores, it is important to constantly review user behavior on the site and improve the site accordingly.""Simple and consistent user experience"The mobile apps as well as the mobile-optimized site of ricardo.ch have been around since 2011 and are constantly being developed. The platform ricardoshops.ch had been redesigned at the end of last year and completely redesigned from scratch in a responsive design, ricardo.ch as well as autoricardo.ch will follow. A lot of things have to be rethought and cannot simply be adapted from the desktop version, says Mäder. "A simple and consistent user experience must always be the primary goal, otherwise users will stay away from the platform."