Consider these two findings thrown by up recent research: One, 90 per cent of smartphone users in India use apps — close to 158 million, and two, India’s mobile commerce market could balloon to $19 billion by 2019.

What do you infer from this? If you thought that mobile commerce is growing at a rapid pace, you have just been able to scratch the surface. The obvious truth is, the mobile has already gained considerable pace in a high-speed runway, to deliver superior customer service — driven by the app-only approach adopted by an ever increasing number of e-commerce brands.

Masters of their own experience Customer interaction systems, also known as contact centre software, are powering brands to manage their customer experience and the mobile has become one of the most prominent focuses. We are witnessing a similar trend among our clients, who have decided to capitalise on the swift shift of traditional contact centres to mobile-based solutions, with the insurgence of advanced features like ‘in-app chat’, ‘click to call’, ‘request-call back.’ These features have gained ground in recent times and have taken the customer experience several notches higher.

With the use of ‘in-app chat’, customers can now contact businesses at their own convenience — from inside the app. Organisations have implemented contextual interactions by routing chat communications to specific departments, and thereafter customers can check order status and other details. Moreover, agents can chat with multiple customers simultaneously using canned responses. Usually, customers abandon carts due to insufficient assistance. However, with the use of this feature, this concern can be properly addressed.

Call collect, too ‘Click to call’ and ‘request-call back’ are call-based features inside apps which allow customers to speak to a contact centre representative to resolve any queries or concerns, track their orders, or know more about products and services. ‘Click to call’ is initiated by the customer and the call charges are also borne by the customer. Contrarily, ‘request-call back’ is initiated by the customer but the call charges are borne by the company whose products/services are being bought by the customer.

It must be noted that with added focus on the mobile, start-ups are becoming far more cost-effective in comparison to conventional methods of customer interaction, like voice/e-mail/web.

Furthermore, the mobile has been providing customers a greater personal experience by bringing them closer to the brands. It has also been instrumental in bridging the gap between customers and brands by attending better to irate consumers and by way of customised services.

A major apparel aggregator was one of the first to go forward with the app-only approach and since then this trend has only increased. These days, extra discounts and added freebies clubbed with promo offers on apps are commonplace with a host of brands across industries.

This is one of the foremost reasons why customers are gradually moving towards apps to shop or transact.

A sense of community However, that is not the only reason why customers are regularly choosing mobile over any other platform. Last year, one of India’s largest e-marketplaces made an effort to turn shopping into a more social experience through the launch of the chat icon feature ‘Ping’ inside its app. Customers can now share products, wishlists, and carts with their phonebook contacts, and also chat with them. Needless to say, other brands have followed suit. Customers abandon carts primarily because of insufficient and immediate assistance, but with live chat support, this problem can surely be averted.

Moreover, several hyper-local commerce companies have initiated a new in-app feature known as multi party on hold. While this feature might be repackaged and renamed by various brands, what it does is that it lets agents put customers on hold and dial a number of other parties involved in the transaction. This way, agents can identify the crux of an issue and thereafter take necessary steps to straighten out customer concerns. Additionally, agents can also choose to connect other parties directly with the customer, if either of them wants to talk to each other.

Companies have also realised the fact that not everyone in India might have access to a computer/laptop, but a larger population ought to have a smartphone. This has led brands to up the ante and push mobile as the primary medium to steer commerce.

The movement towards mobile-based platforms is not only restricted to e-commerce websites, but has essentially spilled over to other industries such as hyperlocals, logistics, finance, and a lot more.

(The author is CEO & Co-founder, AMEYO)

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