Alibaba unveils plans to support retail sector that may have implications for mobile commerce
Alibaba, China’s largest online retailer, has unveiled plans to revolutionize the country’s e-commerce sector. Commerce throughout China has been changing in recent years, driven by the growing number of people that are beginning to rely heavily on their mobile devices. The emergence of mobile commerce has encouraged many companies within China to take the mobile space more seriously, and Alibaba intends to utilize the momentum that mobile commerce has generated to make drastic changes to the e-commerce scene.
Company to invest $16 billion in support for the e-commerce sector
Alibaba intends to invest some $16 billion in logistics and support to the e-commerce field through 2020. The company believes that this investment will help open up China to hundreds of millions of new customers, which could eventually translate into higher revenues for online retailers throughout China. E-commerce is expected to account for a fifth of all retail sales in China within the next 5 years and many of these sales will come from those making purchases from mobile devices.
Mobile commerce is growing in China
Mobile commerce has been gaining momentum throughout China, but few retailers have yet to embrace the mobile space. Support from Alibaba may help retailers become more accommodating of mobile consumers, developing websites and other services that are optimized for mobile use. While Alibaba is not solely focused on mobile commerce, the support that it is bringing to the retail industry may help retailers engage mobile consumers more effectively.
Lack of security could slow growth of mobile commerce
There are risks when it comes to the expansion of mobile commerce. Identity theft and other types of fraud are becoming more common within the mobile space with every passing day. Without adequate security measures, the growth of mobile commerce is expected to be sluggish among consumers that are concerned for the safety of their financial information. Security concerns are also prevalent in the e-commerce sector, where consumers are leery of platforms they are not familiar with.
Mobile commerce may be more about technology for retailers
Mobile technology has begun to change the way consumers participate in retail and commerce as well as how they interact with one another and the world around them. As such, businesses have been forced to adapt to the changing interests of consumers and embrace mobile engagement strategies and focus more heavily on mobile commerce. Gartner analysts suggest that a focus on mobile commerce is beneficial for retailers, but companies should prioritize their use of mobile technology over commerce initiatives in order to optimize revenue generation.
Embracing technology could help boost revenue
Many technology firms around the world have taken a strong interest in mobile commerce. These firms are offering mobile commerce services to retailers and marketing these services as ways to boost revenue by engaging mobile consumers. Gartner analysts suggest that these services may have little impact on revenue if retailers themselves do not become more accommodating to mobile technology. Optimizing websites so they can be easily viewed on mobile devices and providing consumers with ways to find information with their smartphones and tablets while in physical stores is considered more important than actually having a mobile commerce platform.
Retailers have high hopes for mobile commerce
A recent Gartner survey suggests that the world’s leading retailers have high hopes for the mobile space as well as e-commerce. The survey shows that retailers expect the majority of their sales to continue coming from physical stores, but 14.6% will come from e-commerce and 6.5% will come from mobile commerce by 2017. If retailers do not focus more on accommodating mobile technology, however, they may miss out on potential revenue from consumers eager to spend money through their mobile devices.
Mobile sector continues to evolve
Return on investment can be a tricky subject in the world of mobile commerce. There are a wide range of platforms available to consumers, but none of these have yet established themselves as a leader. Moreover, mobile commerce itself is continuing to evolve. The sector is moving away from NFC technology, which has formed its backbone for the past few years. As mobile commerce changes, ways to generate revenue through this sector are becoming somewhat vague.
