Chinese mobile commerce gaining more attention from consumers
China has become a bustling hub of mobile commerce activity in recent years. This is largely due to the massive number of young consumers that have access to mobile technology. These consumers have shown that they are beginning to favor new forms of commerce over traditional forms of commerce and have taken to the mobile space in order to find a more convenient way to purchase products and shop online. In China, two of the country’s largest technology companies are beginning to focus a great deal of their attention on the field of mobile commerce in order to engage a new generation of consumers.
Companies work to promote new forms of commerce
The Alibaba Group and Tencent are two of China’s most influential technology companies. Both companies have strong ties to the retail and gaming spaces, where they work to engage consumers on a regular basis. Because of the companies’ focus on technology, they have taken notice of the meteoric rise of mobile commerce among consumers, as well as the increasingly popularity of location-based services. Location-based technologies have been quite useful in exposing consumers to mobile commerce as these technologies are often used in advertisements that direct consumers to e-commerce sites.
Alibaba favors location-based services and Tencent focuses on social applications
Alibaba is keen to throw more support behind location-based services in order to make mobile commerce more prolific among consumers. The company has invested more than $800 million in these technologies coming from companies like Weibo and AutoNavi. Tencent has shown more subdued interest in location-based services, but does believe that popular social tools, such as the famous WeChat messaging application, could be a powerful way to encourage consumers to participate in mobile commerce providing them details about shops that allow for mobile purchases.
China is establishing itself as a leading market in mobile commerce
China is often considered one of the most active markets when it comes to mobile commerce. Both Alibaba and Tencent have managed to capture the attention of mobile consumers that are eager to take advantage of the capabilities of technology and these consumers have been growing more comfortable with the idea of mobile commerce.
Mobile commerce may be part of Alibaba’s future
Last Friday marked a marked a major milestone for Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies. Alibaba is often considered to be the Chinese version of both Amazon and eBay. While both these companies have a presence in China, Alibaba represents the vast majority of online sales that occur in the country. In 2012 alone, the company reported more than $170 billion in online sales, more than that reported from eBay and Amazon combined. Now, Alibaba is looking to expand beyond China and mobile commerce may be able to help in this endeavor.
Jack Ma announces retirement via concert
Alibaba’s interests in expansion come as the company’s founder and chairman, Jack Ma, announced his retirement. This announcement was made in front of more than 40,000 people that had packed into the Yellow Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou, China, where Ma broke the news of his retirement in a semi-concert setting. Ma is succeeded by Jonathan Lu, who has served as Ma’s right hand for the past 13 years. Lu has some ambitious views for the company’s future.
Alibaba showing strong interest in the mobile sector
Alibaba operates the largest online marketplace, and this marketplace is not restricted to consumers as it caters to businesses as well. With the world becoming increasingly reliant on mobile technology, the prospects of mobile commerce have been gaining more attention. Alibaba has been somewhat aloof of mobile commerce for some time, but the company has been seeing strong competition coming from companies like 360buy due to their ambitious use of mobile commerce services. Consumers are beginning to favor this form of commerce and this interest has begun pressuring companies like Amazon to begin offering mobile commerce services. Alibaba is not likely to continue ignoring this growing trend, especially if its plans for expansion are meant to succeed.
Company may be moving to enter into new markets soon
While Alibaba’s endeavors in the mobile commerce field have yet to be fully revealed, business analysts suggest that the company is beginning to position itself to enter into the European and American markets. Over the past several months, the company has been purchasing stakes in prominent mobile-centric companies, such as Autonavi, creators of China’s most successful map application. The company has recently launched its own mobile operating system as well in order to better connect with mobile consumers.
