eBay has high hopes for mobile commerce
Online retail giant eBay believes that mobile is leading a revolution in the commerce sector. According to eBay, this revolution will change the way consumers purchase and search for products around the world. This week, the retailer has unveiled a new three-year growth strategy that has a heavy emphasis on mobile commerce. eBay expects mobile commerce to play a major role in its future business and is working to ensure that it is as accommodating to mobile consumers as it can possibly be.
eBay and PayPal experience heavy activity in the mobile space
eBay has already experiences strong performance in the mobile commerce sector through itself and its subsidiary PayPal. Where eBay is concerned, more consumers are opting to use their smartphones or tablets to shop for products. These consumers are also more apt to purchase products from their mobile device rather than from a PC. PayPal has been reporting a growing number of transactions being made from mobile devices, whether they involve purchasing products or transferring money from one account to another. This activity has built up eBay’s confidence in the mobile commerce sector.
Mobile commerce expected to reach $300 billion by 2015
By 2015, eBay expects global mobile commerce to reach the $300 billion mark. The company notes that this will translate into revenue growth of 50% or more by the end of 2015. Mobile commerce will be behind much of the growth that eBay is expecting to see over the next three years and the retailer estimates that it will be able to beat out its competitors in its given industry. Amazon, which is eBay’s only major competitor, has also been showing strong interest in mobile commerce. Whether eBay will be able to overcome Amazon may depend largely on the mobile commerce plans of the latter.
Consumer interest powering mobile commerce growth
eBay suggests that mobile commerce is becoming more important for consumers as they become more comfortable with the concept. As more consumers get their hands on smartphones and tablets, they are becoming increasingly exposed to the prospects of mobile commerce. As such, they are becoming more likely to purchase products and shop with their mobile devices than they have ever been in the past few years.
PayPal aims to make mobile payments more iOS friendly
PayPal has high hopes for mobile commerce and the company has been working to make mobile payments easier for everyone over the past two years. The company has taken note of the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, as well as the fact that many consumers prefer to shop using these mobile devices. In order to make mobile payments more universally available, PayPal has been working to develop alternatives to NFC technology, which has long been a cornerstone of mobile commerce.
New SDK allows iOS developers to craft mobile commerce applications
This week, PayPal has launched a new software development kit (SDK) for the iOS platform that will allow developers to create mobile payments systems for the operating system. Last year, Apple launched the iPhone 5, which had been speculated to include some form of NFC technology for the sake of mobile commerce. When the iPhone 5 was officially released, it did not actually support NFC technology, which garnered Apple a significant amount of criticism from consumers. Many claimed that the company would be unable to compete in the mobile payments arena because it had abandoned NFC technology. Apple, however, claimed that the technology was neither secure nor practical enough to facilitate mobile commerce. PayPal shares in this belief.
Developers demand ways to bring mobile commerce services to iOS consumers
The new SDK opens up a new avenue for mobile payments to come to the iOS platform without having to rely on NFC technology in any way. PayPal CTO Jame Barrese notes that the company listened to the demands of developers who wanted the ability to create mobile commerce solutions for iOS devices. Using the SDK, these developers will be able to implement PayPal’s payment system into a mobile application designed for iPhones and iPads. Consumers can use these applications to make mobile payments.
Mobile commerce expected to reach new heights this year
PayPal is quickly becoming a very powerful force in the world of mobile commerce. The company expects to see mobile sales grow to new heights this year as more consumers favor making purchases from their smartphones and tablets. Mobile payments are expected to continue growing in prominence as new services, such as PayPal’s new iOS SDK, become available to developers, who can use these services to craft effective mobile commerce applications.
