7 Trends In Mobile To Watch Out For In 2016

Marketers Will Adopt A Mobile First Approach

The importance of having a mobile presence either via Apps or via mobile optimised sites is even more relevant now. This integrated with search and other marketing technologies make many startups think of a mobile-first approach. In turn, this also means that the companies will let go some of the old habits from a desktop-centric world and invest in truly ‘native’ experiences that are meaningful to mobile users.

Google is focused on optimising for mobile search and as of May 2015 search queries from mobile devices have outpaced those coming from desktops as per Google’s official statement. Therefore, every business will make sure that they have an amazing mobile version of their site that is fully search engine optimised and provides a great user experience. Sites who continue to use a desktop version of their site for mobile users are going to start seeing their mobile rankings drop.

Location Based Marketing Will Be Prominent

Location based services on mobile platforms are taking a new direction. They have been improvised upon and today there are numerous location based services that offer a high degree of accuracy and reliability to the users.

Take the case of iBeacon, a location based service which can be used to market relevant products extensively. According to Adobe Mobile Marketing Survey,” 54% of mobile marketers surveyed are using or planning to use iBeacons in the next 12 months for location-based marketing. The root of all location based services is to understand – what is the value that the customers or target users will get (from the Apps that use these services) and what is the marketer trying to achieve.

These services basically pass on relevant information to the end-users based on their current location. But the question is, how is geo-location tied to the behaviour of buyers? You will see a surge in several location based apps, which offer detailed review of eateries, retail stores or entertainment zones. Consumers often rely upon these bits of information to take the final decision.

Video Ads Will Gain Popularity

Advertising on mobile phones has already seen a lot of change and this trend will continue. Video ads on mobile phones will become increasingly as popular as the screen size and quality of the phones get bigger and better.

Plus video ads are more engaging than pure image and text-based ads. They allow you to tell a compelling company story and build a stronger brand.

Video is also a rich form of content and an effective way to communicate, which is why it is a powerful mobile marketing tool to reach out customers. Video streaming sites are very popular in India, especially YouTube. There are 60 Mn unique users acquired by YouTube every month in the country. Since ecommerce is the fastest growing industry in India, product review videos are paramount. Indian content creators rank among the top five in the world in terms of viewership. The increase of mobile users in India is fuelling the growth of mobile users engaging with video content daily.

As per Mary Meekers 2015 internet trends, Video accounted for 64% of consumer Internet traffic worldwide in 2014, up from 62% in 2013 and 57% in 2012. Mobile video accounted for 55% of mobile traffic in 2014, up from 52% in 2013 and 50% in 2012.

Social Apps Will Play A Critical Role

Most probably this is due to the fact that India has the world’s largest youth population of 10-24 year-olds, who love to use social apps to communicate. The idea of integrated marketing campaigns on these social apps is appealing, and messaging apps are starting to partner with ecommerce advertisers like Snapdeal, Jabong etc. to leverage their platforms as digital stores with a strong social component.

Two of the top ten most used Android Apps in India are messaging apps, Facebook & WhatsApp. India is one of the largest market for Global Internet leaders like Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and Amazon.

Various social media channels have a massive end-user base on mobile already and this is only set to explode. Social networks provide personalised and exclusive experiences to users. In the beginning of 2014, many people thought that there would be no need for another social app or platform apart from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp. But the emergence of Snapchat, Tinder and TrulyMadly etc. has proven that it’s not over yet for the category. According to GlobalWebIndex (GWI) study, in the third quarter of 2014, 83 % of online Indians accessed the Internet via a mobile, resulting in the increased popularity of mobile messaging apps. The report also states that 44% of Indian mobile users prefer messaging apps as the most preferred way to communicate, bypassing even social networks (19%).

Unbundling of Apps Will Happen

Some of the apps have already started this in 2014 for e.g. Paytm launched a dedicated Paytm Wallet App, Gaana did that successfully with category specific apps and their unbundled apps put together have gained few million downloads already. We may see many more Indian apps following this route to unlock some of their hidden features

Mobile Search Will Evolve To Include More Apps

I reckon that 12 months down the line, we will see mobile search results dominated by indexed apps. Google has gone pretty aggressive already to rope in apps to start indexing. Google will definitely be putting its might behind to gain the same foothold in mobile search as well. Several valley based startups are trying to solve the search problem in their unique way, and they might offer some interesting models. This will be an interesting space to watch.

Mcommerce Will Be the Future of Ecommerce

Mobile ecommerce: India seems to be the leader in the switch to mobile for ecommerce companies, with mobile platform accounting for 41% total ecommerce sales in 2014. The report notes that Indian ecommerce leaders are also more mobile-centric as compared to global leaders. Mobile accounts for around 75% of Snapdeal’s orders and around 70% of Flipkart’s orders. This has probably incentivised e-tailers like Myntra to deprecate the desktop site and adopt an app-only model.

Trends in Mcommerce

Mcommerce through Social Platforms: Facebook, the world’s largest and most popular social media network, now lets users to send and receive money between friends in a secure way. Currently, in the pilot phase with access offered only to a limited number of users, the service is expected to be available to all the US-based users in coming months. Far beyond the peer-to-peer money transfer, this feature has enormous potential for Facebook’s business. This feature can change the global ecommerce scenario and the way people buy goods and pay for services online.

Mobile Wallets: With poor credit and debit card penetration in the country, usage of mobile wallets is increasing with adoption of ecommerce. The report suggests that Paytm is a clear leader in the country with around 80 Mn wallet users that has apparently grown 17x in the past year. Mobikwik also has more than 25 Mn wallets in India

In nutshell, mcommerce will continue to grow exponentially and orders from mobile apps will bypass desktop + mobile browser combined. Bigger ecommerce players will see this going up to 65%. Overall mcommerce market to cross $6 Bn. However, most of the shopping apps need to be redesigned keeping the mobile users in mind who has never seen and surfed on a bigger screen. Also, most of the commerce apps are not using the real power of mobile yet including location, camera, messaging, behaviour and context.