Online shopping has absolutely exploded over the past few years. In fact, B2C online shopping is estimated to be worth around $1.5 trillion worldwide, with about $700 billion of that coming from the United States alone. These numbers make sense, especially when we consider the fact that there are more than 200 million online shoppers in the United States. Even more impressive is the fact that the number of online shoppers is expected to increase by more than 50% by 2018, to around 1.6 billion people worldwide.
While the number of online retailers has grown over the past several years, some names are more recognizable than others. Of course, leading the pack is Amazon -- with more than 188 million quarterly visitors -- but they aren't the only game in town.
More recently, mobile shopping has become more popular as well. Mobile retail commerce is around $12 billion, and overall B2C m-commerce is hovering at close to $60 billion and growing fast. While Amazon is certainly a major player in all of this, they aren't the only game in town.
Here are a few of the must-have mobile shopping apps in 2016:
Amazon - Amazon is currently the industry leader, and with good reason. Amazon has largely perfected the desktop browser shopping experience, and their selection of merchandise is second to none. They have translated this effectively to their mobile app, and consumers familiar with the desktop version of the Amazon store will feel right at home on their mobile app.
JET - JET is a newcomer on the scene, and they are trying to compete in many ways with Amazon. Most notably, JET encourages consumers to buy multiple products at the same time (through discounts and other incentive programs), which encourages mobile shoppers to go on a bit of a shopping spree anytime the open the app. Nevertheless, JET offers a clean interface and fantastic value.
RueLaLa - RueLaLa is for those who want a more selective shopping experience, and their mobile app facilitates that as well. The RueLaLa mobile shopping experience isn't quite as sharp as their desktop experience, but we expect that to change before too long.
Etsy - Etsy is the place to go for unique and handcrafted items, and the mobile experience is no different. Consumers looking for something outside the box will find Etsy's mobile app, and particularly the search capabilities within that app, to be useful and robust.
While shopping is getting more and more mobile, Amazon is breaking the mold with a plan to open more than 400 bookstores, as a way to grow their footprint and further entrench the brand into consumer culture. Keep your eyes peeled for news about mobile Amazon purchases being available same-day from one of Amazon's growing brick and mortar locations.
