7 Mobile Trends to Look Out For in 2016

2015 was a red hot year for mobile.  The number of mobile devices has now exceeded the global human population and consumers are engaging with business via their mobile device before any other method.

Many digital advancements will be made this year with the huge rise in smartphone penetration and mobile commerce. With this in mind below are 7 mobile trends to keep a look out for in 2016.

More consumers will adopt mobile payments in 2016.  A report from Forrester indicates that in the U.S. mobile payments are expected to exceed $142 billion by 2019.  Businesses will be integrating mobile payment features in their apps to appeal to customers accessing their services via mobile.

With more and more companies optimising their websites for mobile devices, there will be a shift in companies offering dedicated mobile apps to their customers.  Aside from apps being visually appealing, they offer more functionality and accessibility for users.  In 2016 it will become a ‘must have’ for companies wanting to give their customers a better experience through their mobile devices.

Last year, we witnessed Google indexing and displaying apps in their search results.  App results would only be returned if an equivalent web presence was found, which ruled out a significant number of apps actually available to users. Towards the end of 2015, Google announced that it was experimenting with serving app results even if the business did not have any web presence.

Businesses that are not mobile centric stand to lose potential sales.  Research has already shown that almost 50% of users will choose another search result when searching for products and services if the first one is not mobile friendly.  When people search via their smartphone, they are usually looking for specific products or services rather than just ‘surfing’ and this can present excellent opportunities for businesses that recognise this.  

In 2016 businesses will have to realise that through mobile, they can empower their workforce.  For example, they can empower their sales force with videos, presentations, access to the company CRM and internal resources.   With more and more employees working remotely, they need to increase efficiency and accessibility to information via tablets and mobiles.  Businesses have no choice now to adopt a mobile strategy if they want to survive in an increasingly competitive environment.

Brands will be looking to seamlessly connect physical, desktop, mobile and other devices in order to deliver a consistent experience for their customers. This opens up great opportunities to leverage mobile technology and stay ahead of their competition.  There will also be greater integration between mobile and wearables that actually solve problems.

We will see and experience new technology that affects the way people will interact with content, from touch to voice to gesture controls. There has already been huge growth in voice search, and voice interactions are an incredibly powerful medium for brands to consider for seamless navigation.

2016 will be a very exciting year for mobile with a burst in new gadgets, accessibility, faster internet speeds and innovative technology.  For businesses, this presents great opportunity to add to their bottom line as most of their customers now have a smartphone.