Mobile Ecommerce Driven by High Smartphone Penetration.

Spurred on by sudden and dramatic changes in sociological factors such as levels of disposable income and technological infrastructure.In many cases, emerging markets in MENA and South Asia are outstripping their western counterparts in the areas of technological development and Ecommerce market trends.

The UAE has the highest percentage in the world for mobile penetration, and more and more people across the globe are adopting mobile phones and devices as their first option for Ecommerce purchases. However, whilst smartphone penetration is revolutionising emerging markets, it's tablets that are driving European and North American enterprise.

From the Ecommerce Foundation's Global B2C E-commerce Report 2014, we can see how penetration in these areas is driving Ecommerce sales:

"When we look at the use of mobile devices in global regions, we see that smartphones remain the most important mobile device with regard to shopping through the Internet.

Especially in China and MENA, the popularity of tablets lags behind. However, Europeans and North Americans are more and more embracing tablets for buying goods and/or services online. This is evident from the growing share of e-commerce turnover made through tablets, which is shown in the tables on the left."

Overall, Smartphone penetration increased by 48% in the developed world last year, but by a massive 164% in emerging market. This presents a clear opportunity for Ecommerce entities operating in emerging markets but also for Ecommerce businesses in the more mature Western Market. Eastern innovation can serve as a petri dish for experimentation, with successful innovation able to be scaled and refined for Western infrastructure. Mobile development in China especially has advanced to such a stage that Western marketers are now examining Chinese companies to get an edge on the competition.

With internet penetration more common then ever, and levels of global Smartphone ownership constantly growing, the time is ripe to make mobile the first priority in any Ecommerce strategy.