The consumer sales transactions completed on mobile devices would grow by 20 per cent as a proportion of overall interactions between 2012 and 2015 in India.
In a similar trend to that seen in sales transactions, customer services and mobile-specific market campaigns will experience substantial growth as a percentage of overall consumer interactions, growing 24 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, during the period, according to a study by Tata Consultancy Services.
The report - New Digital Mobile Consumer - highlights the criticality of developing a corporate strategy for interactions conducted with consumers specifically through mobile devices.
Rapid adoption of multiple mobile devices by both consumers and employees, however, is demanding that mobile strategies evolve further still.
Businesses increasingly need applications designed to run on both smartphones and tablets. The leading companies within the study recognise that this strategy allows them to scale out their applications more effectively across user groups and mobile device types.
In India in 2012, 30 per cent of the companies have applications running on both smartphones and tablets. But this is set to rise by 20 per cent with 36 per cent planned to be usable on both types of devices by 2015.
The companies reporting the greatest success with digital mobile consumers are those that are quickest to adapt to new platforms such as the tablets. Globally, the leading companies had an average of 25 per cent of their mobile applications designed specifically for tablets. In contrast, the companies with the least success had just 17 per cent, it said.
"Consumer facing businesses need to develop strong, well-executed digital mobile consumer strategies in order to capitalise on the tremendous sales, marketing, and service opportunities that are now unfolding via the mobile devices of consumers,” Satya Ramaswamy, Global Head of Mobility at TCS, said.
"Smartphones are becoming the preferred computing devices for consumers while they are out-and-about, whereas tablets are taking an increasingly central role for these consumers while they are within their homes. As a result, these mobile devices are transforming customer experiences into anytime-anywhere contextual interactions, and are becoming the new battlegrounds for attracting and retaining profitable consumer segments,” he added.