China continues to show favor for mobile payments and similar services
Mobile payment services in China have seen strong growth in 2013. A new report from iResearch, an online tracking and data analysis firm, shows that independent mobile commerce platforms have found a great deal of support from Chinese consumers. People throughout the country are turning to these platforms in order to shop online and pay for products they are interested with their mobile device rather than with physical currency. As device ownership continues to grow, mobile commerce is expected to become much more prevalent throughout the country.
707% growth in mobile payments throughout 2013
According to the report from iResearch, some $200 billion in mobile payments was made throughout 2013. This represents a 707% year-over-year increase and the momentum that mobile commerce platforms have already been able to generate is expected to carry well into the future. Consumers claim to favor mobile commerce services because of their convenience and the fact that they allow people to manage their finances from their mobile devices rather than being forced to do so at home from their computers.
Report shows that NFC technology is losing ground
The report from iResearch suggests that mobile shopping is no longer the main attractor of most mobile commerce platforms. According to the report, online money transfers and banking features are quickly becoming the main reason people use these platforms. As these services see more attention from consumers, their use of NFC technology is beginning to diminish. The report shows that NFC-based mobile commerce services in China dropped from 2.6% in 2012 to just 0.8% in 2013. NFC has never been popular in China and mobile commerce services have managed to find success without making use of the technology.
China is becoming increasingly mobile-centric
China has established itself as a very active and attractive mobile market. Not only are mobile payments flourishing throughout the country, but mobile games are also generating a great deal of profit and economic activity. Advertisers in China are also beginning to focus on mobile consumers more aggressively, launching interactive mobile marketing campaigns that are designed to be more dynamic than traditional marketing initiatives.
The report notes that mobile devices have reached a point where they can reliably provide an enjoyable mobile commerce experience. Moreover, the number of consumers that have smartphones and other such devices has reached new heights in China, and many of these people are showing that they are willing to shop online. According to the report, approximately 30% of the mobile devices sold throughout China at the start of 2013 were smartphones.