In m-commerce, WhatsApp has been used by consumers to make purchases
In April 2018, Opinion Box released a new edition of its research, "Panorama Mobile Time: Mobile Commerce in Brazil," which indicates (among other information) that some messaging apps have, for the first time, entered the list of apps most used by consumers for purchasing physical goods via m-commerce.
Messenger apps are used in m-commerce
Annually, since 2016, the aforementioned Opinion Box study brings in its context a ranking of apps used by m-commerce consumers to make purchases. The surprise in 2018 was the appearance of messenger apps on the list.
The researchers asked: “name up to three names of apps or websites that you used to place orders on your cell phone”, while the responses of the 1.953 Brazilians who participated in the survey generated the following ranking:
• 31,0% use the Mercado Livre app
• 21.0% of Americanas
• 14,0% of iFood
• 12,0% that of AliExpress
• 8,0% of the Submarine
• 8,0% of WhatsApp
• 8,0% of Wish
• 7,0% of Magazine Luiza
• 7,0% of OLX
• 5,0% of Netshoes
• 5,0% of Facebook Messenger
As you can see in the list, WhatsApp appears in 6th place (it is Top 10) and Facebook Messenger in 11th.
The study also revealed that 57% of Brazilian internet users interviewed have already purchased products or services via WhatsApp and 42% have already done so via Facebook Messenger.
Inclusion of messenger apps in the contacts of the virtual store
Given that not all consumers are able to manage on their own and learn more about the products and services they are trying to buy (through reviews, descriptions , blog posts, audience content, and other types of content), and given that some of these consumers need dedicated personal assistance to answer questions, it's a good idea to include one or two messaging apps in your online store's contact list, preferably those mentioned in the Opinion Box survey.
Here's a tip: just like in soccer (and since we're close to the FIFA World Cup in Russia ), provide more assists so your customers can score more goals (buy more) in your online store via m-commerce.
