Design

Mobile commerce posted astounding growth rates in 2015. A recent Forrester Research survey indicates that smartphone sales accounted for 17% of total retail sales in 2015, and that sales from smartphone devices grew 53% year-over-year. It is due simply to the rapid increase in the number of smartphone owners – of whom there are about 200 million today in the U.S. – and a growing familiarity with making mobile purchases. The turn toward mobile isn’t just happening among the millennial segment, either. A recent Forrester study concluded that although millennials (26- to 34-year-olds) do lead other generations in terms of tablet adoption, 35- to 44-year-olds show the highest levels of actual tablet use during the process of researching a purchase. What do these statistics mean for manufacturers and distributors selling B2B? They indicate that in the very near future, B2B brands seeking to maximize profits will need to have a solid mobile commerce growth strategy in place.