It’s a smartphone society. “Call it good. Call it bad. It just is.” The number of smartphones in US has reached 91.4 million this year. Every morning, the first thing I do is reaching for my iPhone 6 to turn off the alarm clock. After I sit up, I will open the news app to check sport games results. As the day goes by I use my phone to surf the internet, to communicate on social media platforms, to check emails, listen to music, take photos, read latest news, and so on. Also, please do not forget that of course we use them for their original purpose–to make phone calls. Now, all these activities can be done using one single device—the smartphone. This phenomenon happens on millions of people like me. Definitely, smartphones have changed our life. Also, it has changed the way to do business.
When business people do planning and make strategy, the first thing they should consider is how to reach their buyers. If your idea cannot reach your buyers, how could you convince them to open their wallets? Data shows that the average user engage with their mobile devices is 200 times a day. It is Huge. It is the most successful way and efficient way to engage with customers. Nowadays, most business has multiple platforms to reach their potential customers and acquire profit. For example, traditional business such as clothing industry has changed a lot by this trend. I use my favorite brand–American Eagle Outfitters to show this trend. American Eagle Outfitters is an American clothing and outdoor accessories retailer. As we all know that the competition is fierce in this clothing market field. The company not only does business in traditional company-owned shops and mall-based stores, but also uses the mobile platform–AEO app. I found a digital shift in the retail world as more retailers and shoppers than ever embrace smartphone apps to become a important sell channel. Almost every big retailer, such as AEO, The North Face, Banana Republic, and even GNC has created a shopping app which can be down loaded in App Store.
Not only so, “Mobile is still an infant.” It is growing every day. Smartphones are becoming increasingly intertwined with people’s daily lives. They are now equipped with more powerful processors, more memory, multiple network interfaces, and more powerful operating systems such as Google Android, and Apple iOS. Furthermore, the cellular networks of smartphones have grown from GSM networks to the current 4G LTE networks, which have greatly increased the speed of the communication between advertisers and buyers.
by Lingxiang Wen
Wen 