“2013 will be remember as the year that online went mobile” according to USA Today. Cyber Monday in the USA has recently been described as one where mobile finally took as the preferred shopping method for people using online. Shopping preferences have changed with some retailers reporting mobile devices accounting for over half of sales. Overall consumer preference demonstrated that over 30% of devices used for shopping during “cyber Monday” were mobile devices.
Cyber Monday is one of the key shopping days in the United States which make up the start of the Thanksgiving/Christmas Holiday season. While shopping levels were substantially higher with sales reported as being 17% higher than on the previous day in 2012, there appears to be some surprise to the extent people shifted to mobile devices to make their purchases.
The repercussions of this shift are a portent of what is to come for mobile usage for financial institutions. The effect of retail changes really only highlight what is likely to occur for financial services and in all likelihood to happen faster than many expect. In a recent post I mentioned that ANZ was likely to spend a lot more their mobile platforms. By any indication mobile is becoming mainstream faster than what anyone predicted.
The need for online financial services to migrate to the mobile platform is now acute. The lessons from recent retail experience is essential learning for financial institutions.