Mobile commerce continues to grow with consumers
It is no secret that mobile commerce is becoming much more than a trend around the world. Tech-savvy consumers have flocked to the concept of mobile payments and even those without smartphones and tablets are finding ways to purchase products online with their mobile devices. There is a significant level of buzz surrounding the mobile commerce space currently, which has encouraged large companies to enter into this scene in order to find success. Amazon is one of these companies.
Amazon announced new affiliate program for app developers
Amazon already boasts of one of the strongest presences in e-commerce, but the company has been growing more interested in the mobile sector in recent years. The company has been involved in its own mobile payments initiatives, but is now taking a step to get applications developers more involved in mobile commerce. Amazon has announced a new program that will provide developers with a 6% commission on all products that are features in their applications. The program will be restricted to Android applications for the time being.
Affiliate program proves successful for Amazon
Amazon currently boats of some 900,000 affiliates that account for approximately 40% of the company’s revenue. These affiliates are paid a commission for featuring Amazon advertisements on their websites and commissions tend to range from 4% to 25%. The company’s affiliate program has been very popular and quite lucrative. Amazon believes that it can bolster its mobile commerce market share by mimicking this program in other sectors, such as the applications market.
Mobile commerce venture may boost Amazon’s market share
Given the popularity of applications, Amazon may be able to find some success with its latest mobile commerce initiative. It will also provide developers with a way to become more acclimated to the mobile payments scene. Consumers have already shown their interest in mobile commerce, so Amazon intends to capitalize on this by providing them with more ways to purchase products online.
Amazon aims to set itself apart in the mobile commerce field
Amazon is beginning to feel the weight of mounting competition in the field of online retail. Competition is beginning to heat up as more companies begin embracing mobile commerce for the sake of consumers that rely heavily on smartphones and tablets. Amazon is among the earliest adopters of mobile commerce as its position as an online retailer made the company well suited to meet the needs of mobile consumers. With competition from other retailers, however, Amazon has moved to set itself apart from other companies and has introduced its own virtual currency.
Amazon Coins could be an effective mobile commerce and loyalty tool
Virtual currency is not particularly popular with consumers. This type of currency is most often seen in the world of gaming, where consumers can purchase and use this currency to unlock additional content in the games they enjoy. In retail, virtual currency is somewhat rare as most retailers are content with handling actual money. Virtual currencies are not typically associated with mobile commerce as these currencies are not often associated with mobile platforms of any kind. Amazon believes that its virtual currency, called Amazon Coins, could be quite effective at capturing the loyalty of consumers, especially those interested in mobile commerce, as these Coins can only be used to purchase products through Amazon.
Coins can be used to purchase products from the Appstore
Those interested in using Amazon’s new currency must first purchase the Coins from the company. For 500 Coins, consumers will have to pay $5. The Coins can be used to purchase anything from the Amazon Appstore and are exclusive to Kindle Fire tablets. As such, the Coins are somewhat exclusive, catering to a niche market comprised of those with Kindle Fire devices. While the Kindle Fire has proven to be very popular, Amazon does not expect that the device is so popular that it would encourage consumers to purchase Coins. So, Amazon has decided to give away its Coins for free.
Amazon gives Coins away for free
This week, Amazon has deposited 500 Coins into the accounts of every Kindle Fire user. Amazon expects that the Coins will be well received among consumers as they can be used to purchase a multitude of applications, mobile games, music, and e-books from the Appstore. Moreover, items purchased using Coins typically receive a 10% discount, making the virtual currency more alluring for Kindle Fire users. Whether the Coins will succeed in helping Amazon establish a stronger presence in mobile commerce has yet to be seen.
