Brands are being advised to look to this channel in order to help to considerably increase their sales in that country.
According to a Draftfcb China global study, the adoption of mobile commerce by brands and companies could help them to double or even triple the sales that they are experiencing over the short and medium term future.
The research looked into the data collected by a study in which there were participants from 8 regions.
Participants in the survey lived within one of eight major global economies and were aged from 18 to 64 years old. It was conducted in the second half of 2012 and there were 8,000 respondents to the mobile commerce survey. The countries included the United States, the United Kingdom, India, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, China, and the Middle East.
The results indicated that China was an extremely important player in the mobile commerce ecosystem.
The survey indicated that among the respondents from China 57 percent of smartphone owners would purchase any type of product using their devices. This was considerably higher than the global average, which was 49 percent. Chinese consumers have become a very important part of smartphone retail shopping, as they live in one of the economies in which the penetration of these devices is the greatest.
The study showed that China possesses the most active mobile commerce market. In fact, people in that country use their smartphones for more functions overall than in any other country or region represented in the survey. Overall, smartphone users from China were conducting 4.9 different types of activities on their devices every day. Comparatively, the United States was in second place at 4.7 percent, and India conducted 4.4 activities per day.
The research indicated that mobile commerce provides brands with access to most cities in China, even when their stores or products don’t actually have a physical location within them. It also stated that this helps to explain why some of the most common smartphone shoppers are individuals residing in the smaller cities and people in Generation Y, the most digital of all of the adult demographics.
Lack of quality could drive consumers away from mobile commerce
Econsultancy, a market research and consultancy firm, has released a new report called “Mobile Commerce Compendium.” The report aims to provide comprehensive insight to the challenging mobile commerce sector. Mobile commerce is currently highly competitive due to its relative youth when compared to other sectors and the challenges that exist in this sector can often be overwhelming. While many startups and larger companies have their own perspective when it comes to what a mobile commerce platform should be, the report suggests that quality is the most important aspect of these platforms.
Consumers favor quality above all
Quality, or lack thereof, is one of the main points of criticism that exists with modern mobile commerce initiatives. Low quality services have given consumers throughout the world a poor experience when it comes to mobile commerce and has discouraged their continued participation therein. Quality can often determine whether a mobile commerce platform can be considered viable by a consumer and the report shows that consumers tend to favor platforms that offer better experiences than their competitors.
Mobile sites play a major role in consumer satisfaction
The report also shows that many consumers use their mobile devices to compare prices on particular products offered by retailers. These consumers will make an effort to find the best prices they can before making a purchase in-store. The report also shows that the load time for mobile websites factors into the quality issue that consumers have with mobile commerce. Slow-loading sites tend to annoy consumers, making them less inclined to participate in mobile commerce or make a purchase of any sort.
Report notes that mobile sites are integral to marketing
The report notes that mobile sites have become an integral part of any successful marketing campaign. With more people relying more heavily on their mobile devices for nearly every aspect of their lives, websites that are not optimized for these devices are not well received by consumers. Providing a mobile site for these consumers is also not enough to win their favor, as these sites must function properly and boast of high quality mobile commerce options.
