The one true mobile nation
Although 'mobile first' has been a popular marketing buzzword for years, until recently there was really only one nation that had gone fully mobile: China. That direction was quickly adopted by its closest Asian neighbours — Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand. In more developed commerce markets like the US and UK, the shift to small-screen online shopping has been decidedly slower.
Why did Asia choose mobile?
China's mobile internet users represent a population 2.5 times larger than the US, the next biggest mobile market. Chinese consumers have embraced the ubiquity of mobile devices, using them to interact with brands and shop online. Four years ago, mobile transactions in China already outnumbered desktop transactions.
The rapid development of mobile commerce in Asia-Pacific compared to the West is also explained by the smartphone quickly becoming the primary device for internet access — driven by falling device prices and cheaper network investment. Additionally, restrictions on traditional cross-border retail encouraged consumers to use online markets, and digital platforms open to third-party sellers accelerated China's digital transformation.
At the same time, online shopping was constrained by low card payment penetration — but payment apps like Alipay quickly filled that gap, giving consumers a secure way to transact on mobile. Further growth in m-commerce followed continuous development of increasingly user-friendly apps. Mobile continues to strengthen its position in China as the primary engine of online commerce.
China's social commerce success
In a country where trust in official institutions — government, large corporations — is lower than average, consumers place greater weight on recommendations from friends. According to Euromonitor International's 2016 Global Consumer Trends Survey, 41% of Chinese consumers trust peer recommendations, compared to 28% in the US and 24% in the UK.
This translates directly into trust in brands via social media — specifically, recommendations shared by friends. That trust also lowers the barrier to interacting with brands directly within social platforms. Hence why WeChat's communication functions quickly expanded to include calling a taxi, ordering food delivery, buying cinema tickets, paying utility bills, and even booking a doctor's appointment. A single, fully integrated app emerged.
This super-app model — where one platform serves as the hub for everything — is central to understanding why Chinese consumers are so deeply embedded in mobile. There's no need to leave the app ecosystem to complete any part of daily life.
The start of the mobile-only era beyond Asia
As North American and European consumers adopt the Asian approach to social media — weaving it into every aspect of daily life — the growth rate of m-commerce in the West is accelerating.
The key difference is that in China, nobody debated whether websites should be optimised for mobile. They skipped that stage entirely and went straight to mobile devices.
This is the mindset shift that matters. Whatever we're building now, we should be thinking mobile-only: mobile UX, mobile content, mobile video, mobile messaging, mobile payments. We live in a mobile world.
What this means for your strategy
At GrowthLift, we work with advertisers who are at various stages of this journey. Some are still primarily driving desktop conversions; others have fully committed to app-first strategies. The brands performing best are those who have stopped treating mobile as an optimisation exercise and started treating it as the primary channel.
If you're mapping out your mobile strategy — whether it's scaling app installs, building in-app conversion funnels, or finding the right publisher mix for mobile audiences — our team is here to help.
