Author: Dan Gendro

Nike could play a role in Apple’s plans for wearable devices in the relatively near future

Nike CEO Mark Parker recently made comments suggesting that the acclaimed sports accessories company may soon be partnering with Apple. This partnership may result in the development of a new smart watch that will be equipped with several features associated with athletics. Rumors concerning Apple’s foray into the field of wearable technology have been circulating for some time, but the famed technology company has been very modest in releasing information concerning such efforts.

Company intends to move away from hardware in order to focus more on software

Nike has also shown that it is disinclined to reveal information concerning its future interests in wearable devices and its potential partnerships with other companies. The company has recently announced that it will be exiting the manufacture of wearable devices after the lackluster performance of its FuelBand device. Instead, Nike is keen to focus on the software that such devices use. This software could find a home in a wide range of wearable devices that could be released in the future, particularly those developed by Apple.

Large tech companies are becoming more aggressive with the idea of wearable devices

Wearable technology has become a subject of interest in the tech field. More companies are beginning to develop devices that they believe will revolutionize the way people interact with each other and their surroundings. Google Glass is one such device that is meant to quite literally change the way people see the world around them. Samsung has also been involving itself in the development of smart watches that have strong social media potential.

Large companies may see a great deal of benefit through partnerships with their smaller counterparts

While large technology companies are becoming more aggressive when it comes to wearable devices, they are discovering that they must partner with others in order to ensure that these devices are successful. Nike may not be well known for its wearable devices, but the company is certainly in a position to drive up the appeal of devices that it is developing software for.

This increase will occur within this year, alone, and will bring the spending to around €730 million.

According to the results of recent mobile commerce research that was conducted on behalf of ActiePagina.nl, part of the RetailMeNot marketplace, the Dutch will be spending an estimated 69.8 percent more, this year, over their smartphones and tablets than they did last year.

This increase in m-commerce shopping is an explosive one, even compared to the rate in other countries.

The report on this research showed that it is likely that by the end of 2014, people in the Netherlands will have spent approximately €730 million over mobile commerce and that this will bring the country up into the top five regions in Europe for spending over smartphones and tablet computers. The study, itself, was conducted by the Centre of Retail Research. It included an analysis of data within eight different European nations, as well as the United States.

This has made it clear that the mobile commerce channel is an extremely important one in the Netherlands.

While ecommerce as a whole continues to grow in all of the countries that were examined within the study, it was mcommerce that stood out, particularly when it came to the Netherlands. The rate of growth of online shopping in the country was 8.6 percent when compared to the year before. However, the sales that occurred over smartphones rose by 55.2 percent and there was a full 100 percent increase in the sales that were occurring over tablets.

It is believed that among the Dutch, m-commerce will make up 12.2 percent of all online sales, this year. This insight should be exceptionally important to marketers and merchants that are selling within that marketplace, and should be a sign of things to come to those that are operating in other parts of the world. This channel is clearly not one that should be ignored.

Across all of Europe, mobile commerce sales should be increasing by 85 percent, this year, to bring them to €23.4 billion. In the Unites States, on the other hand, the projected growth is 65 percent, to reach €44.6 billion.