The latest data from BI Intelligence has shown that shoppers are increasingly adopting this channel.
The most recent report from BI Intelligence has revealed that m-commerce made up 11 percent of all online shopping throughout the holiday season in 2012, which is a staggering increase over 2010, when it comprised 3 percent of the total.
This amount currently represents about $18.6 billion in consumer spending, not including travel purchases.
This m-commerce growth, according to BI Intelligence is, in part the result of the growing popularity of the channel. The company has predicted that by the end of 2013, its share of the total will have increased to 15 percent of all online purchases.
The report not only examined the proportion of m-commerce, but also examined the cause of its growth.
The BI Intelligence report not only provided the figures regarding the growth of the channel, but it also looked into many of the latest m-commerce trends that can help to explain why the growth is occurring in the way that it is.
The following are some of the reasons that the report used to explain the trend toward m-commerce that is leading it to grow:
• At the moment, more than half (54 percent) of adults in the United States currently own smartphones and about a quarter of American adults own tablets. The report predicts that in three years, there will be more tablets than there are PCs among American consumers. By the end of the year 2016, the worldwide sale of tablets will have reached 450 million.
• Data is already indicating that there is more traffic heading to m-commerce websites than the actual percentage of its penetration. That is, while 25 percent of American adults own tablets, those devices account for 40 percent of the traffic to those sites.
• Almost 50 percent of all smartphone owners between the ages of 12 and 17 years old use that device as their primary connection to the internet. Therefore, among younger consumers, it is more natural for them to use m-commerce as a primary online shopping channel than it is for older consumers.
Report highlights growing mobile commerce initiatives
The Mercator Advisory Group, a market research and analysis firm, has released a new report concerning global mobile commerce initiatives. The report, titled “Global Mobile Retail Payment Initiatives 2013,” aims to shed light on NFC-based mobile commerce and how it is being used in the retail industry. NFC technology has long been a pillar of the mobile commerce field and the technology continues to see strong support in several industries despite the security and efficiency concerns that surround it.
NFC continues to receive criticism
The report notes that there are a growing number of pilot projects concerning NFC-based mobile commerce emerging around the world. In the telecommunications sector, companies responsible for the making of smartphones and tablets are beginning to give their new devices NFC capabilities in order to accommodate the interests that consumers have in mobile commerce and close proximity data sharing. While the report shows that NFC technology is seeing strong progress around the world, the technology continues to be criticized by several of the companies and organizations that are most involved in mobile commerce.
Mobile security concerns surround NFC technology
NFC technology is used to facilitate mobile transactions. This is done by transmitting a consumer’s financial information. This information can be intercepted with relative ease or otherwise stolen from a mobile device by exploiting the capabilities of NFC technology. Companies like PayPal, which has a strong interest in mobile commerce, suggest that NFC technology is simply not secure enough to keep a consumer’s financial information safe. Moreover, the technology may not be adequate of supporting a massive mobile commerce network, leading to efficiency problems.
Small retailers show strong support for NFC-based mobile commerce
While NFC technology may be receiving some dubious attention, the technology is showing promising signs of adoption from small retail businesses. These businesses do not have the same financial clout of their larger counterparts, but must still accommodate the interests of consumers. As such, mobile commerce is gaining ground with these retailers, and NFC technology has been the best solution available to them.
