PALM SPRINGS, CA – Executives at the Mobile Shopping Summit 2016 revealed that retailers are investing more in mobile-first strategies after conversion rates on mobile are increasing.

As technology and checkout platforms on mobile are increasing in quality and convenience, sales are following with mobile sales conversions growing year over year. Retailers are seeing this as a way to usher in more sales, as consumers are spending more time than ever within devices.

Mobile Commerce Daily asked attendees what their retail clients are saying about mobile commerce for the year ahead. In no particular order, here are their responses.

Thomas Lichtwerch vice president of sales at Mad Mobile:
Over the last 12 months we have seen a big shift in budgets towards mobile technology in the stores, where 90 percent of the sales still happen. Most retailers already have a strategy in place for their consumer facing mobile websites and apps.

Now, the big retailers are focused on clienteling, converting more sales in-store, and beating the pure play e-commerce companies by leveraging their greatest assets – stores and associates. Combining the online experience with the personalized touch of shopping at a store seems to be the goal for most retailers going into 2017.

Ben Gray, Digital Experience Analyst with Applause:
Mobile shopping apps accounted for $60 billion dollars in sales in 2015, which represents a 70 percent increase year over year. Now, retailers see there is a massive opportunity when they embrace digital first strategies.

Amanda Laviana, Content Coordinator, Shopgate:
We are seeing our merchants significantly ramp up mobile efforts and investments, specifically in the app space. The increase in customer loyalty and user experience within apps is undeniable, and more and more clients are cashing in on the opportunity to reach customers on mobile – where they already spend so many hours of their day.

Amy Abascal head of marketing at Americas Follow Analytics:
As mobile adoption soars and becomes the first screen, we see clients prioritizing mobile and definitely increasing spend. In the early days of mobile, most of that budget was focused on acquisition, but as enterprises mature, we are seeing a shift to retention and long-term value.

Jay O’Sulivan, senior vice presiden of sales at Waterfall:
We are hearing a lot of “mobile first” at the show. There is no doubt mobile budgets continue to increase. The spend increase depends on the brand. Could be app development, content creation specifically for mobile, mobile ad spend, messaging, customer data consolidation, and the list goes on.

Emily Taggart, mobile strategist at LeanPlum:
They are increasing their mobile budgets if they are aware that investing in mobile is essential if you want to be relevant now and in the future. Our Leanplum clients understand that engagement, retention and growth are intertwined and investing in these 3 components of mobile marketing is the key to driving sustainable ROI.

David Galante, vice president of mobile products at Emarsys:
Yes, we have seen increased spending on building native apps to make purchases on mobile more seamless.