Walmart and Best Buy are already pulling out all the stops when it comes to selling the latest Apple device.
The Apple iPad Air will officially be available for purchase as of Friday, November 1, 2013, and many companies are already getting ready for the tablet commerce battle of the year to make sure that they will be the ones that will make the most sales from these highly coveted devices.
In fact, many retailers have been preparing themselves for a sales war unlike any that they have ever experienced.
In the spotlight, at the moment, are the tablet commerce efforts being made by Walmart and Best Buy, which have aggressively stepped up their games in order to secure their hold on the iPad sales market. They are both seeking to draw the largest number of buyers for the first wave of sales of these devices.
This includes tablet commerce efforts to offer these gadgets at a lower price than the competition.
For instance, Walmart has announced that for the product launch, it will be offering one of its “roll back” promotions so that the iPad Air will be available for $479. However, this hardly suggests that the retail giant will be the only place that a deal can be found to purchase this device. Other retailers – particularly Best Buy – are well aware of that company’s tactics and are making moves to ensure that their own offers are more appealing to consumers.
In this light, it has been rumored – though not yet confirmed (that is expected very soon) – that in the effort to lead the way in tablet commerce, Best Buy will agree to match the price of any competitor that is selling the iPad Air.
When all is said and done, that first weekend will clearly be offering consumers a range of different tablet commerce savings opportunities while they comparison shop to be able to purchase the latest gadgets from Apple. Even Apple, itself, has announced its own effort, saying that its shops will open their doors an hour earlier than usual in order to help to accommodate the rush of shoppers.
Amazon and eBay may clash in the mobile commerce field
Competition in the mobile commerce field is nothing new. Technology firms from around the world are competing with one another in order to develop the next great mobile commerce platform while retailers are working to engage mobile consumers through their own platforms. The popularity surrounding mobile commerce has lead to the emergence of a vast multitude of startup companies that seek to benefit from the success that can be found in the mobile field.
Both companies have high hopes for mobile commerce
Mobile commerce competition may reach a new high as two of the sector’s largest players begin to clash. Both Amazon and eBay boast of a commanding presence in the mobile commerce field. Amazon’s retail power and eBay PayPal division have made the two companies quite formidable, but the two had little occasion to clash in the past. Now that mobile commerce has become a global phenomenon and has shown no signs of slowing down, however, Amazon and eBay are expected to vie for supremacy within the field.
New service from Amazon aims to make mobile payments more convenient
Amazon recently launched its Login and Pay service, which is meant to make mobile payments more convenient for online shoppers. This service is available to retailers and used to make retailers more accommodating of the needs of mobile consumers. The service itself is quite similar to that offered by PayPal and both Amazon and PayPal feature robust anti-fraud capabilities designed to make the mobile commerce sector somewhat more secure. Amazon may be able to compete with PayPal in the mobile space with its new service, especially as eBay focuses more on expansion rather than the development of new services.
Online sales in the US expected to reach $328 by end of 2016
In the U.S., online sales are expected to reach $327 billion by 2016. PayPal is currently the leading online payment processor, accounting for $7.7 million in transactions on a daily basis. There may be plenty of room for Amazon and eBay to grow into the mobile commerce field side by side, but the two companies share a large consumer base. Both appeal to the same demographic as one another, making it difficult for either company to exist in without competing with one another in some way.
