Both these elements mesh well with each other and proving to be a winning combination, as they provide consumers capability to make purchases with extreme ease while they are `on the go' or when they are surrounded by comfort of their own home.
According to the latest statistical data from Media Post, mobile took about 12 percent of online spending which was equivalent to about US $ 303 billion in the United States.
The statistical data also showed that by 2020, mobile is expected to double online sales to US $ 632 billion worldwide and will account for 45 percent of all orders being placed on online stores.
The question arises whether Pakistan be a part of this mobile shopping revolution, and answer is that this influx of mobile sales would also have a positive impact for Pakistani's e-commerce market.
If someone take a look at websites present in Pakistani interwebs from mobile devices, one would notice that majority of them are responsive and some of them even have their own dedicated applications such as Daraz, Homeshopping and Bytes, to name a few.
Also, the rapid growth witnessed in mobile wallet solutions such as EasyPay in Pakistan, mean things are improving when it comes to people and their dwindling hesitancy in making digital transactions.
As per research, smartphones are still used for the most part to browse for items, but due to the fact that laptops and desktop computers provide more descriptions and allow users to see the image more clearly (although more often than not, they are just stock images), purchasing is not being done in high frequencies from mobile devices as they are in the traditional sense, indicating that there is still some time before adoption is slowly accepted on mobile devices as well.
Another thing to add here is that the emergence of a regulatory system will also be important in order for these e-commerce businesses to deliver astounding customer services. Only recently, a report was covered stating that Pakistani e-commerce businesses are not making a profit, but before concrete financial data is released, it is far too early to reach a conclusion.
What we do know is that in the future, with the maturing of 3G/4G telecoms services and increased wireless coverage in Pakistan, along with the affordability of smartphones, e-commerce will definitely soar to greater heights.