Author: Dan Gendro

Survey highlights the growth of mobile shopping in China and elsewhere

MasterCard has released the results of a new survey concerning mobile commerce in China. Consumers throughout China have been growing more interested in shopping from their mobile devices and are beginning to use their smartphones and tablets to purchase products more often. Many consumers consider mobile shopping to be very convenient and ideal for their current circumstances. This is especially true among people that commute often as mobile commerce allows them to purchase products from wherever they are and have these products delivered to their homes.

Nearly 100% of Chinese respondents have made a mobile purchase in the past three months

According to the survey from MasterCard, mobile commerce has been growing quickly throughout the Asian-Pacific region. Thailand, South Korea, and India boast of impressive results when it comes to the number of people participating in mobile shopping and payments. The survey shows, however, that nearly 100% of the respondents in China have said that they have made at least one online purchase from a mobile device in t he past three months. Approximately 59% of these consumers noted that they made a purchase with a smartphone.

Retailers help power the growth of mobile shopping

The survey attributes the growth of mobile shopping in China to the efforts that several retailers have made to engage mobile consumers. Alibaba and Tencent, for example, have launched aggressive campaigns to attract the attention of these consumers. Using their Alipay and WeChat applications, these companies have managed to establish a dominant position in the mobile field. Smaller retailers have also been working to accommodate the needs of mobile consumers by embracing mobile payments more readily.

China is likely to retain its lead as a prominent mobile commerce market

China is expected to be a leading mobile commerce market well into the future, followed closely by Thailand and South Korea. As smartphone penetration continues to rise throughout the Asian-Pacific region, the number of people shopping online from their mobile devices is expected to continue growing. Tablets are also beginning to establish a reputation among consumers in this region as one of the best mobile shopping platforms currently available.

According to recent statistics, mcommerce currently makes up 30 percent of online earnings.

The introduction and rapid penetration of smartphones has completely turned the world of online shopping on its head, to the point where mobile commerce is now representing a considerable share of the revenues that are being generated through ecommerce.

In fact, some of the latest data has indicated that mcommerce could represent nearly a third of online shopping revenue.

For example, in 2012, mobile commerce made up 10 percent of the overall revenues generated online by the websites of fashion retailer, Myntra, as well as 5 percent for Snapdeal an online deal provider. In 2013, however, that same channel was generating double the percentage for Myntra, and six times the percentage for Snapdeal, the latter of which was experiencing nearly daily growth in that area.

Travel companies are also benefiting from growing mobile commerce use by consumers.

It has been estimated that 15 percent of online travel company bookings at Yatra.com originated from smartphones. That company is now aiming to try to boost that figure to between 40 and 50 percent of its online revenue share, as rapidly as possible. Justdial, a local search website, has seen a much more considerable success rate, after having seen a growth of its mobile share of revenues by 150 percent.

For a long time the trend was for smartphone and tablet users to browse over their mobile devices and make their purchases in person, not online. Or they would browse over those gadgets and then make an online purchase using a laptop or desktop computer. However, that trend seems to be shifting as a growing number of people start to use their smartphones and tables for a larger number of daily tasks, including shopping and buying.

This trend toward mobile commerce buying has been accelerated by the rising number of retailers and merchants who have been optimizing their websites for smaller screens as well as creating dedicated apps. They have allowed for a greater amount of competition, comparison, and options so that consumers have more choice available to them through this channel.