Tag: italy mobile commerce

Mobile payments service to launch in Italy

Visa Europe and Telecom Italia partner for new mobile payments venture

Telecom Italia and Visa Europe have entered into a new strategic partnership in order to boost mobile payments throughout Italy. Both companies have shown a major interest in mobile commerce and have been working to break into this field for some time. Mobile commerce, however, is quite competitive and is filled with technology, telecommunications, and financial service firms that are all trying to grab the attention of consumers. It is for this reason that strategic partnerships are becoming more common in the mobile commerce sector.

Consumers show strong interest in mobile commerce

Italian consumers have been showing a strong interest in mobile payments. This is partly due to the convenience that mobile commerce represents. Shopping and purchasing products from a mobile device has become quite common among consumers that frequently travel and this trend has not gone unnoticed by Visa Europe and Telecom Italia. Both companies have, therefore, been working to develop new mobile payments services that will be available to an estimated 31 million people across Italy.

NFC-based service may not be popular with consumers

Italy Mobile Payments PartnershipVisa Europe intends to reduce the use of physical currency at point of sale. The new service is meant to provide consumers with more security with their transactions. The service is, however, based on NFC technology, which means that only NFC-enabled mobile devices can take advantage of its features. This may be problematic, as NFC-enabled devices are still somewhat rare among European consumers. New NFC-enabled smartphones are expected to be launched in Italy in 2014, however, which may help resolve this issue.

Mobile payments expected to gain momentum from the holiday season

Mobile payments have been gaining more attention throughout Europe, especially as consumers look for more convenient ways to shop. With the holiday season fast approaching, it is expected that record numbers of people throughout Europe will be using their mobile devices to purchase products online and at physical stores.

Mobile commerce finding traction in Italy

Mobile commerce is growing in Europe

Commerce is changing around the world, driven partly by the growing proliferation of mobile technology. Mobile devices are enabling consumers to shop and make purchases in a new way. Initially, the concept of mobile commerce was relatively unpopular due to the perceived inconvenience of using smartphones and tablets to replace traditional forms of currency. Mobile commerce has proven, however, to be extremely popular among consumers. This much became evident during the 2012 holiday season, where mobile commerce found a great deal of traction with consumers in several parts of the world.

Report highlights the progress e-commerce is making in Italy

The Netcomm Observatory has published a new report concerning the growth mobile commerce has seen in Italy.  Mobile commerce activity has been relatively low in the country, but consumers are growing more acclimated to the prospect of using their mobile devices to purchase products. The report from Netcomm shows that e-commerce users reached a peak of 14 million during the Christmas holiday of 2012. Many of these consumers were involved in mobile commerce, purchasing and shopping for products from their smartphones and tablets.

Italy Mobile CommerceItaly’s commerce scene is beginning to change

The report notes that mobile commerce sales in Italy last year came in at approximately $9.6 billion, with most of these sales being made during the holiday season. The report also notes that mobile commerce and e-commerce have been showing promising progress this year. According to the report, e-commerce sales are estimated to be more than $11.3 billion so far this year. Many of these sales have also been made through mobile commerce platforms.

Europe continues to see a revolution in commerce

Mobile commerce is beginning to pick up momentum in Italy and has yet to show signs of slowing down. Netcomm expects that mobile commerce alone with account for more than $430 million in sales this year and this does not account for the sales made through tablet devices. This trend is not unique to Italy, of course, as mobile commerce is has been making strong progress throughout Europe.