Mobile commerce has become a major interest for Groupon

Daily deals provider Groupon has been showing a strong interest in mobile commerce recently. The company specializes in providing consumers with special offers that come from retailers, restaurants, and other such businesses. The deals and coupons are meant to entice consumers, but Groupon had primarily been focused on those using stationary computers in the past. As mobile commerce becomes a more prominent part of society, the company is beginning to put more focus on the mobile sector.

Groupon acquires Ticket Monster

Groupon has been making an effort to establish a strong presence in the competitive mobile commerce field in recent months. The company has now made a bold move on this front with its acquisition of South Korea’s Ticket Monster, which is a daily deals provider similar to Groupon. Ticket Monster represents more than $800 million in annualized billings, much of which comes from mobile commerce. South Korea has become a hub of activity as far as mobile commerce is concerned, largely due to the high smartphone penetration seen throughout the country. The experience that Ticket Monster has gleaned in the market may help Groupon develop a stronger foothold in the mobile sector.

Consumers are becoming more mobile

E-commerce remains a strong interest with many consumers, but more people are opting to shop via their mobile devices rather than stationary computers. Smartphones and tablets allow for a more convenient shopping experience, especially for those that travel frequently. Even those that do not travel are beginning to use their mobile devices to shop rather than visit physical stores. It is for this reason that retailers are beginning to take mobile commerce more seriously, with some going so far as to develop their own mobile payments platforms.

Competition in high in the mobile commerce space

Groupon may confront difficulty with its plans to expand into the mobile sector. Mobile commerce is awash with a wide variety of start-ups that are seeking to gain the attention of consumers. Several large technology, telecommunications, and financial service firms have also entered into the mobile commerce arena, increasing the competition that exists within this sector significantly.

The true start to the purchasing season over smartphones and tablets is expected to kick off on the holiday itself.

Although the tradition was once to get together with family on Thanksgiving day and to shop for deals on Black Friday, things have changed with the addition of m-commerce and the internet as a growing number of people finish their meals and sign on to start their bargain hunting right away.

The new attitude is that there is no reason to wait when they have the shop sitting right there in their hand.

M-commerce is not only redefining the way that people behave over the Thanksgiving holiday, but it is also turning holiday shopping patterns on their head. Every year, new trends are being identified and monitored in order to help to better predict what will happen the year afterward. As mobile commerce is a relatively new channel that is taking off very quickly, many retailers are scrambling to know what to do and when to place the main target on consumers.

This year, m-commerce trends suggest that retailers that wait for Cyber Monday may have waited too long.

It isn’t that consumers won’t be signing on to the internet on Cyber Monday. In fact, the vast majority of online shoppers will likely focus on that day when they are sitting in front of their desktops and laptops – which represents most of the consumers that will be shopping online for deals. However, when it comes to the massively growing number of shoppers that will be buying their products and services over m-commerce, they may still be feeling stuffed from their turkey dinner when they use their smartphones and tablets to check out what’s available.

According to the principal analyst of digital index at Adobe, Tyler White, “The change happened when people had mobile devices in their hands. People want to be with their families, but if you’re bored with the football game, you start shopping. Mobile is driving the growth on Thanksgiving.” Though it is anticipated that retail revenue overall will likely remain flat this year, the sales that are occurring from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are expected by Adobe to break records in its growth, particularly over m-commerce.