To paraphrase the singer, a “shopping state of mind” will become more and more prevalent in 2014 and beyond as smartphones and other mobile devices carve out increasingly larger territories in the ecommerce world. According to a new study by eMarketer, the constant connectivity of consumers through smartphones and tablets is driving an evolution from “everywhere commerce” towards an “always on” retail environment.

The study, “Key Digital Trends for 2014,” revealed that as smartphones and tablets become more prevalent and are used more frequently for shopping related activities, the public will “…always [be] in the consideration phase for something and rarely more than a tap away from jumping from a physical store to a virtual store, or from one online merchant to another.” Because the use of smartphones has no predictable on/off pattern, they create an always-shopping environment, regardless of consumers’ actual intentions.

While smartphones dominate the mobile commerce market because of their portability and pervasiveness, tablets are expected to increase in prominence and contribute to shaping this emerging paradigm as they become more affordable and accessible to greater numbers.

The projected numbers are encouraging, as mobile commerce is expected to account for over 25 percent of ecommerce sales in the United States, and increase of almost seven percent over the 2014 predictions. Globally, the numbers are even stronger. Those countries that have a more advanced digital presence in the marketplace can expect the share of e- and m-commerce sales to reach at least 35% by 2017.

Reference:

eMarketer. “Key Trends for 2014: Always on Commerce,”  December 9, 2013.