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Smartphones are leading the way in mobile commerce growth

| January 12, 2016

Study highlights a paradigm shift in the mobile commerce space

A new study from Forrester Research, Shop.org, and Bizrate Insights shows that smartphones are beginning to become powerful mobile commerce tools. The study has found that consumers are beginning to change the way they browse for products online while using their mobile devices. This, alongside a shift in investments coming from technology companies and better optimization strategies from retailers, is beginning to have a major impact on the mobile commerce space as a whole.

Retailers are seeing more activity come from smartphones rather than tablets

The study found that, among retailers, smartphones accounted for approximately 17% of all online sales made in 2015. By comparison, tablets comprised 14% of online sales last year. Sales via smartphones grew by 53% over what they had been in 2014, with sales from tablets seeing a modest 32% growth in 2014. Retailers are beginning to optimize their mobile engagement strategies, which has lead to a higher number of smartphone users to participate in mobile commerce.

Technology companies are beginning to change the way they invest in the mobile sector

Smartphones - Mobile Commerce GrowthThe study also found that there is a shift occurring in the investments that technology companies are making in the mobile space. A growing number of these companies are beginning to focus more heavily on mobile commerce, hoping to take advantage of the rapidly growing market. Companies like Apple and Google are bringing their own mobile payments services to new markets and retailers are beginning to follow suit. Technology companies are seeing major promise in the continued growth of the mobile commerce market are investing to ensure its continued expansion.

Retailers begin to focus more heavily on smartphones

Tablets had been a very popular mobile shopper platform for consumers in the past. These devices feature larger screens, which allowed for a more enjoyable shopping experience. Smartphones are becoming more popular among consumers, however, as these devices tend to be more common and more convenient shopping experience. Organizations involved in the mobile commerce space may soon focus more heavily on smartphones than other mobile devices in order to effectively engage consumers.

Mobile payments could see strong growth in 2016

| January 12, 2016

The mobile payments space failed to find mainstream success in 2015

Last year, mobile payments managed to gain momentum, but failed to become mainstream. Several companies, including Apple, Google, and Samsung, introduced new mobile payments services in 2015, but interest among consumers has been somewhat limited. Indeed, these consumers opted to use an existing platform provided by PayPal to spend their money on their mobile devices. While mobile payments may not have gone mainstream in 2015, this could change this year, as new services become available and companies begin offering better benefits to consumers.

Many consumers remain concerned about the security of mobile payments

One of the reasons that consumers have been avoiding mobile payments is because they are not convinced of its overall security. In the past few years, major retailers have reported major data breaches, which lead to the financial information of consumers being compromised. This has sown fear among consumers, who believe that mobile payments services may be exposed to exploitation. As such, they have shied away from services, despite the availability of new technology that ensures the protection of consumer information.

Consumers want to see more value from the services that they use

Mobile Payments - 2016 GrowthAnother problem that consumers have with mobile payments is that they do not see the benefit that services offer. While many services also function as a type of digital wallet, they do not consider the ability to store financial information valuable. Being able to take advantage of special deals being offered by retailers has added more attraction to certain mobile payments services, but consumers want more out of the products that they are using.

Supporting loyalty programs and improving security features may ensure the mainstream success of mobile payments

Companies involved in mobile payments may need to ensure that their services offer a worthwhile experience while also being able to keep consumer information safe. These companies will also have to show more support for loyalty programs, which have become quite popular among consumers. In doing so, these companies may be able to find more success in the mobile payments space in 2016.