Do e-commerce sites have phablets to thank for building brand trust?
As mobile device usage grew last year, so did online shopping. According to GeekWire, 40 percent of online sales took place through mobile devices. A huge part of this growth was due to the smartphone/tablet hybrid or “phablet,” such as the iPhone 6s Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, which begs the question: Without the ease and convenience of smartphones, phablets and the corresponding apps, would e-commerce sites like Wanelo and Etsy be able to increase customers and therefore build trust in their brands?
Phablets are essentially super-sized smartphones with, typically, 6 to 7-inch screens or slightly smaller tablets. With their enlarged screens, phablets enable users to check email, complete work assignments, with apps like Microsoft 365 and shop online. It’s much easier to do all these things with the phablet’s larger screens as opposed to the roughly 4 inch screens on traditional smartphones.
Take the massive, “digital mall,” Wanelo for instance. The online shopping site features 12 million products that are posted online by users from more than 300,00 stores, ranging from big brand retailers to individual sellers.
Wanelo is simple to use and slightly addicting. One may find themselves spending hours glued to their phablet, browsing the millions of different products available, from clothing, makeup and jewelry to home décor. The Wanelo shopping app has made it, dare I say, too convenient and too easy to spend money. With the wide selection and vast array of eye-catching goods, coupled with ease and convenience, Wanelo is a retailers and consumers dream. However, would the e-commerce site have been able to blossom had it not been for mobile devices and their corresponding apps? Maybe not.
Let’s take a look at the e-commerce site, Etsy for example. Etsy is an online shopping site that offers handmade and vintage items, such as art, clothing, jewelry, home goods, toys and much more, with all vintage items being a mandatory 20 plus years old. The site is essentially an online craft fair, offering sellers their own personal storefronts. Etsy has been around since 1998. But, it didn’t break the one-million-dollar mark until 2007; that’s roughly around the time that smartphones began to gain popularity – coincidence? As of December 31, 2014, Etsy had 54 million registered users and growing.
So, what do you think? Are online shopping apps like Wanelo and Etsy trustworthy because of their reputation, or do they have phablets and apps to thank for making it easier to shop?
