The holidays add more momentum to mobile commerce

Consumers in Europe may be getting a head start on their holiday shopping. Many people have been flooding retail sites on their mobile devices in order to get some of their holiday shopping done early. While retailers have not yet begun to provide the special offers that have become common for the holidays, many of these companies are offering some special discounts to those that participate in mobile commerce. A new report from Adobe predicts that mobile commerce will have a major impact on this year’s holiday season.

Report highlights the growth of mobile sales and online traffic

According to the Adobe Digital Index 2013 Online Shopping Forecast, approximately 12.4% of all online sales in eleven European countries are expected to come from smartphones and tablets. This is a 68% increase over what had been reported in the previous year. Smartphones are expected to be the platform through which the majority of mobile sales are made, with tablets following closely behind. The report suggests that December 9, 2013, will be the highest grossing online shopping day, with the following week being the highest grossing week for retailers in Europe.

Consumers favor convenience of mobile commerce

Mobile commerce is cited as one of the caused behind this growth in online sales and online retail traffic. Consumers have become enthralled with the concept of mobile commerce because of the convenience that it represents. Mobile shopping allows consumers to avoid visiting physical stores, thereby avoiding crowds and expediting the shopping experience. Mobile commerce has proven so convenient that many consumers are opting to get their shopping done before the holidays even begin. These people are willing to forgo the special deals being offered by retailers during the holiday season in order to get their shopping done ahead of time.

Retailers continue to bolster their mobile platforms

Mobile commerce is expected to have a prominent impact on the retail industries in Austria, France, Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, as well as other countries. The 2012 holiday season showcased the power that mobile commerce has over consumers, and retailers have spent much of 2013 preparing their mobile platforms in order to take advantage of the continued growth of mobile commerce among consumers.

The growth over smartphones and tablets could make its IPO price a bargain in the long run.

Twitter, the social media marketing network giant has announced that it intends to increase the proposed price for its initial public offering (IPO) which is expected later on this week.

This helps to illustrate the enthusiasm that the company is experiencing as its IPO grows nearer.

As Twitter talks to prospective institutional investors about its future as a network and in social media marketing, it is clear that they are receiving a considerable response. This has caused buyers to wonder whether they should be looking at this new price as an opportunity.

Last week, it looked as though the price per share would be much different for this social media marketing company.

The IPO stock price had originally been estimated to be somewhere between $17 to $20 per share. This had investors extremely enthusiastic about putting their money behind this social media marketing company, as it appeared clear that the price would rise. However, the bankers from Twitter are now raising the price range so that it will now land between $23 and $25 per share.

That said, even though the new valuation may have cause investors to hesitate before moving forward with the social media marketing company, it does look as though they are still interested. The reluctance, at first, was quite pronounced, but even at the higher end of that price range, it still looks as though it could be quite a profitable opportunity over the longer term.

If one considers the next twelve months for the social media marketing network, it is quite a hefty valuation to have assigned the company. However, as an investment into the future and not into the short term, this could be a substantial chance to watch prices rise.

This is especially true because it is well known that the ads on Twitter have only barely touched on their full potential and that social media marketing is due to explode. Some in the industry have even predicted that Twitter may take Facebook’s position, next year, as the leader among the network giants.