Surely this remains the eternal dilemma that brands and companies face when developing your digital strategy and online sales. And the answer is song name: It depends. “In accordance it depends how you look at all like the refrain of that song Jarabe de Palo”. Everything is based on the market, target audience and product, among other factors.

User preferences. The data from the study by Econsultancy last year showed a greater willingness by consumers to decide mobile site to start a purchase process, especially in the US (68% vs 33%); while in the UK this difference was more equal (61% vs 39%).

Buying behavior of target audience

It is important to take into account the phase of the buying cycle, and what actions does the client during it. Thus, in the case that it uses multiple devices for a single purchase, the mobile application probably not be the best tool for this. Users are multiscreen, and either use a device or other for information and consume content. 67% say that starts your purchase on one device and continue on another, noting that the smartphone is usually the starting point.

The computer is usually the end device where the transaction (61%) is completed. However, in the case of those purchases that start in tablets, only 10% is completed against the pc or laptop, so itself should study the appropriateness of developing a specific application for these intelligent screens. Another reason that lead us to this is that tablet users buy more often and spend more. The study published last year by Forrester and Shop.org collected the statement by the 45% of companies in the amount of orders from tablets was 28% higher than that of other similar devices.

Optimize the user experience

One of the factors most valued mobile users when browsing online is to get a good user experience, with personalized service. The study published by Adobe earlier this month reflects how mobile applications are a good way to promote engagement with the objective pubic and create more opportunities for conversion. According to their findings, 85% of users prefer applications from mobile sites. Specifically in the case of tablets, a customer can devote to an app to 24 minutes per session, 4 times more time to devote to a web.

On the other hand, applications generate more opportunities to connect with customers. Users use applications twice the brand’s website (9.8 vs 4.4 times).

Studying the sector

The most frequently used applications are financial, up to 30% more than the rest; while those consulted longer are the travel, being able to spend up to 20 minutes per session. Users of the app retail sector also have a high rate of penetration among mobile users, who come to them 5.8 times a month.

On the other hand, the travel industry has an important index of mobile customers. According to data from JiWire, for the first quarter of the year, 27% of customers seeking information about purchasing travel just with your smartphone, along with 39% using your tablet. This represents an important niche market, also transacts a significant amount. 44% of respondents are willing to make purchases for more than $ 500.

What is clear is that the future of electronic commerce is mobile, and companies have to work hard to provide customized and integrated strategy across all channels. Mobile applications are a useful tool for this, which should be evaluated in order to pursue this goal.