Tag: australia mobile shopping

Report highlights the potential future of the mobile sector in Australia

InMobi has released a new report concerning mobile commerce activity in Australia. The report shows that many people are growing accustomed to the idea of paying for goods and services using their mobile devices. A growing number of people are using their smartphones and tablets to shop online and retailers are taking steps to begin accepting mobile payments in physical stores. In the coming years, Australia may become home to one of the most active mobile commerce markets in the world.

86% of consumers have plans to shop online from a mobile device in the next 12 months

According to the report from InMobi, almost 86% of Australian mobile consumers have plans to engage in some form of mobile commerce within the next 12 months. This is an 11% increase over the number of people that said they would participate in mobile commerce in 2013. Approximately 34% of consumers noted that mobile affected their purchasing decisions in a significant way. These people have been responding to mobile-centric initiatives and marketing more than others.

Mobile accounts for a large portion of overall media consumption among consumers

The report shows that the average consumer spends nearly 7 hours a day on media consumption, with mobile accounting for 23% of this consumption. Nearly 55% of mobile consumers throughout the country are now using their devices as their primary entertainment source, playing mobile games, interacting on social media platforms, and participating in other mobile-centric activities. The popularity of mobile technology has exposed these people to the idea of mobile commerce and many consumers have shown favor for it.

Security remains an issue that many people are concerned about in the mobile commerce space

Mobile commerce is still relatively new. As such, there are many risks and challenges that exist in this sector that have not yet been addressed. Security is the most serious problem facing mobile commerce currently. While several platforms have offered adequate security solutions to consumers, many more feature lackluster security that can place a consumer’s financial information at risk of exploitation.

PayPal has revealed that over the last three years, the growth in the use of this technology has exploded.

According to the latest Secure Insight report from PayPal, smartphones are becoming an extremely important part of the overall shopping experience, as mobile payments are being greatly embraced by Australians.

This has reached the extent that in three years, they have grown by a factor of 5000 percent.

PayPal explained that this mobile payments growth rose from a base of $37 million. Beyond Australia, the wider online retail market experienced an 11 percent growth to bring its own figure to $36.8 billion. When compared to retail transactions, overall, this is significant, as the total figure had been estimated at only 2 to 3 percent.

This demonstrates that mobile payments are rising far more quickly than transactions as a whole.

Jeff Clementz, the managing director for PayPal Australia, has explained that the last three years that the company has experienced in retail in the country had been focused on expanding e-commerce. However, he has said that the next phase is now underway and it will concentrate on solutions for the point of sale.

He explained that “Technology development has driven deep structural change in Australian retail.” Clementz also went on to add that “Where once there were few retailers that could truly be called omni-channel, today there are many connecting with consumers in-store, online and on the go.”

The focus that PayPal has now taken is to change the way that the cash register experience works for both retailers and consumers. This aligns with its recent announcement of its PayPal Beacon mobile payments service. Within it, consumers are provided with a hands-free experience. It allows customers to head into a brick and mortar shop, choose their products, and then pay for them at the checkout counter without ever taking their wallets or their devices out of their pockets or purses.

The hope is that these mobile payments will provide a much faster, smoother, and more convenient transaction to enhance shopping, overall, and simplify the purchasing experience to a point that has never before been achieved.