Branding Brand survey shows mobile commerce performance on Black Friday
Branding Brand, a leading mobile commerce platform used within the retail industry, has announced the results of its Mobile Commerce Index for Black Friday survey. The survey is meant to highlight the performance of mobile commerce amongst consumers on the most important day of the year for the retail industry: Black Friday. The survey shows that mobile commerce was largely successful in boosting the mobile sales within the retail industry by a significant margin.
Mobile sales up 128%
The survey accounts for 66 mobile sites developed by Branding Brand for retailers participating in mobile commerce. These retailers span a wide variety of industries and has shown a great deal of interest in engaging mobile consumers, identifying these consumers as a major opportunity for growth. The survey shows that mobile sales on Black Friday grew by 128% over what they had been in the previous year. Mobile traffic also grew by 101% over the level they had been in 2011.
Most consumers used iOS devices for mobile commerce
Branding Brand suggests that mobile commerce has played a major role in this year’s holiday season, as far as the retail industry is concerned. The survey shows that most consumers made use of iOS devices to access e-commerce sites. Android devices, especially those equipped with NFC technology, were still used and were largely responsible for purchases made within physical stores from an actual mobile device. The iOS platform does not currently support NFC technology.
Retailers may be inclined to support mobile commerce
Mobile commerce had been expected to play a significant role for the retail industry during Black Friday. Branding Brand suggests that this is the case and that the retail industry has now been shown evidence of the capabilities of mobile commerce. With Black Friday leaving many retailers in a positive financial position for the remained of the fiscal year, they may be inclined to invest more support into mobile commerce for the future.
E-commerce business losing traction with investors
Black Friday has passed and that has left many retailers preparing for the remainder of the holiday season. While Christmas still looms, Black Friday was the most important day for the retail industry. Now that that day has passed, retailers can enjoy some mild relief before gearing up to engage consumers again in December. Mobile commerce helped make this year’s Black Friday a major success, and the growing popularity surrounding the concept has lead to many start-up e-commerce businesses being formed. Investors have seen the potential of these start-ups and some are suggesting that they are overvalued.
Mobile commerce continues to spark new businesses
Over the past 18 months, mobile commerce has sparked the founding of several e-commerce platforms that had promised to provide innovative service to consumers and niche markets. Many of these platforms received a proverbial tidal wave of investments that helped them reach their target audience. Unfortunately, most of these platforms failed to meet the expectations of investors, thus yielding modest returns at best. The lackluster performance of some platforms has not stopped the formation of new e-commerce businesses, however. Finding investments may soon become difficult for these start-ups.
Failed e-commerce ventures create unease among investors
Though the e-commerce sector shows promising growth, investors have seen a string of failed online retail ventures from groups like Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon. Smaller companies that promised major returns were unable to deliver, thus making many investors leery of e-commerce ventures and those that revolve around mobile commerce. Former eBay executive Dana Stalder, who is now a partner at Matrix Partners, an investment firm focused on software and communications companies, suggests that there is “inflated valuations” concerning e-commerce ventures.
Capital-intensive business may find lack of support
Stalder notes that most e-commerce businesses are complex and require significant capital to operate. Inventory and shipping costs make it difficult for new businesses to reach a large audience. Even with financial backing, these businesses can easily spend more than they make, thus making them less lucrative for investors. Many of these companies have created an uneasy investment climate for the online retail industry, which could make it exceedingly difficult for new e-commerce start-ups to find the backing that they need.
