UK consumers may be flocking to mobile commerce and abandoning cash
The British Retail Consortium has been keeping track of a surprising trend that has emerged in the United Kingdom. The organization has reported that cash usage among consumers saw a sharp drop in 2012. This trend has been growing more pronounced as consumers grow more reliant on mobile technology. Smartphones and tablets are allowing consumers to engage in mobile commerce, which has lead them to move away from traditional forms of commerce for the sake of convenience.
Consumers are turning to cards and mobile devices to purchase products
The British Retail Consortium has released the results of a new survey that shows the decline of cash usage among consumers. According to the survey, cash usage fell by nearly 10% throughout the United Kingdom in 2012. Many consumers appear to be using their debit and credit cards more often, with others favoring mobile commerce platforms. Notably, physical forms of currency are losing grounds with young, tech-savvy consumers that have a great deal of experience with mobile technology.
Retail sector sees growth in mobile commerce activity
While consumers appear to be moving toward mobile commerce, payments made from smartphones and tablets still represent a small volume of the spending that occurs in many sectors. The retail sector has seen the most activity when it comes to mobile commerce, but spending from mobile devices is still offset by the use of cash and other forms of commerce. Consumers that are not interested in mobile spending are showing interest in another aspect of mobile commerce, however, as they begin to embrace the usefulness of banking applications.
Mobile payments unlikely to completely replace cash for the foreseeable future
Mobile commerce is expected to continue growing throughout the United Kingdom, especially as more businesses begin offering comprehensive mobile services. Mobile commerce may eventually replace the use of cash, but this is not expected to happen for several years. For now, consumers will continue to rely on cash and their debit and credit cards until the challenges that mobile commerce faces have been overcome.
Mobile payments may be revolutionized by ambitious developers
Mobile payments are becoming more popular and common in the U.S., but many still claim there are barriers between the mobile commerce world and consumers. Some mobile payments services are being criticized as not being convenient enough for some consumers while others are meeting consumer backlash over matters of security. Mobile developers have been working to find ways to make mobile payments more efficient in recent months in the hopes of making the entirety of the mobile commerce scene more accommodating and attractive to consumers.
Harper Reed announced plans for new mobile commerce application
Harper Reed, former chief technology officer for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, has announced that he and a team of developers are working to develop a new mobile payments application. Reed suggests that this application will change the way people participate in mobile commerce and will act as a push-button solution to many of the problems that currently exist in the realm of mobile payments. Reed managed to garner acclaim for his work with mobile applications during the Obama campaign and his talent may be enough to bring about major changes in mobile payments.
Application aims to streamline mobile payments
The application is currently in very early stages of development and Reed and his team have yet to decide on the final features the application will offer. For now, only the application’s ultimate goal is set in stone. Reed envisions an application through which purchases can be made with a simple push of a button, or in this case a tap of the screen of a mobile device. The application would make use of financial information stored on a mobile device in order to make this possible and Reed believes that making mobile payments easier for consumers to manage will make the entire online retail scene more active.
Security remains top challenge in mobile commerce space
While Reed’s vision for the future of mobile payments is ambitious, there are still several challenges that exist in the mobile commerce space that have made consumers somewhat leery of paying for products with their smartphones and tablets. The most prominent of these challenges has to do with security. Mobile payments have long been plagued by security issues that have put the financial information of consumers in danger, thereby driving many people away from this field. In order for Reed and his team to find the success they seek in mobile payments, they will have to find a way to solve the security problem.
