The massive online marketplace is demonstrating a continuing upward momentum on smartphones and tablets.
Analysts are discovering that the mobile commerce performance of some of the original players in the smartphone and tablet shopping channels – such as eBay Inc. – are among the top performing locations and that they are now ready to continue the growth they have established.
It is also among these companies that the most established data is available regarding individual performance.
According to Michael Graham, an analyst from Canaccord Genuity, in a letter that went out to clients “E-commerce should continue to grow in the mid-teens as online shopping models become more useful, more efficient and more mobile, and eBay has positioned itself well against this opportunity.”
Analysts are bullish about the positioning that eBay has established in the mobile commerce environment.
Similar to Mr. Graham, Colin Gillis, an analyst from BGC Partners has identified the online marketplace as his top exposure to e-commerce pick for this year. He even issued a statement in the form of haiku that indicated his belief that mobile commerce could lead eBay’s value to one day exceed that of Amazon.
Graham also pointed out that from his company’s perspective, that “We believe eBay’s fundamental outlook is stable and could improve further over the course of 2013”. He explained that the gross merchandise volume (GMV) year over year from eBay has been consistently accelerating. This is because of a number of new and active users. He feels that a rapidly growing number of people are finding at eBay is useful, and that this is “likely driven by mobile”.
Gillis also took the opportunity to point out the value of mcommerce at eBay. In fact, he expressed that his company feels that the online auction site has “the strongest suite of offering for mobile commerce between its PayPal and its marketplace businesses.” He added that nearly one third of all purchases that are made at eBay are done from a smartphone or tablet device. Moreover, its estimates show that it will likely have processed more than $10 billion in mobile payments in the last year.
Today’s businesses must not only go mobile, but must do it while keeping up with other trends.
Shopping via mobile commerce is undergoing exponential growth, and as smartphones become increasingly popular and customer awareness of how to take part in the many different forms of the sector – from information to discounts to purchasing – it is only expected to skyrocket further.
eBay and Nielsen have each released the retail trends that start with smartphones and work outward.
The latest eBay Online Business Index (OBI) has shown that approximately half of all of the participating businesses had stated that they would be optimizing their online content for mcommerce. Nearly another quarter – 24 percent – stated that they would be developing a site meant specifically for mobile, while over 20 percent said that they would be creating an app.
The reason is that consumers want to be able to interact with their favorite companies through mobile commerce.
The most recent annual Nielsen Retail and Shopper Trends Report identified a wide list of trends that represent the way that the marketplace is shifting. Top among them is mcommerce, but it is clear that many of the other trends are closely linked to this sector and must be woven into its strategies.
Among these trends are the following:
• Mcommerce – this holds the top spot because its growth and hype is simply unmatched. It is a trend that is acting like a craze, as consumers find themselves equipped with everything they need once they purchase a smartphone. eBay, itself, just experienced its 100 millionth download of its app, and has now recorded 100 million mobile listings.
• Private labels sliding – Nielsen’s report showed that there has been a slip of 0.7 percent in the overall penetration of private labels. This is especially true in the grocery sector. Branded products emphasis by top retailers has been a primary driver in this trend. It shows that price wars are fierce and that shoppers are looking for the best deal and not necessarily the store they used to automatically choose. Mcommerce can benefit greatly by this knowledge, as can those who are marketing over mobile channels.
• Price importance – the latest report from Nielsen showed that the awareness of price among shoppers has risen significantly. Two years ago, fewer than 50 percent of consumers felt that they felt confident that they knew the prices of the products that they purchased the most frequently. This leapt to 60 percent this year. Price is a key factor in purchasing decisions, particularly with the movement away from private labels. As mobile commerce is a sphere where a consumer can comparison shop among dozens, if not hundreds of different shops for the same or a similar product, prices must be competitive and easy to obtain, while value must be clearly demonstrated.
