Author: Dan Gendro

Mobile commerce will play a major role in holiday shopping

Whether retailers are ready or not, smartphone is going to have a considerable impact on consumers.

As is the case every year, holiday shoppers in 2014 will be looking to find the very best deals, and mobile commerce will be playing a very important part in that, regardless of whether or not the actual purchase is made over smartphones and tablets.

A growing number of pre-holiday survey results are starting to be released and they show that consumers want m-commerce.

One of the top consumer desires has been shown to be the ability to use their devices in order to price products and look for deals. Mobile commerce is more than simply making an online purchase through the use of a smartphone or tablet. According to a Google Consumer Surveys study that was conducted on behalf of Thinknear and that involved the participation of 1,000 adults in the United States, one in every three holiday shoppers plans to use a their devices to check prices.

Even before a shopper leaves his or her home to hit the stores, mobile commerce will play an important role.

Mobile Commerce Survey - Holiday ShoppingThe recent survey showed the following activities for which consumers expect to use their mobile devices during the upcoming holiday shopping season:

• Price comparisons (32 percent)
• Researching ideas for gifts (31 percent)
• Reading product reviews (27 percent)
• Looking for deals such as sales and coupons (25 percent)
• Creating a shopping list (22 percent)

These are very interesting statistics and reflect the type of behavior among consumers that retailers are going to want to take very seriously if they want to be able to get the most out of the holiday shopping season.

These results also reflect those that were revealed within the American Express Spending and Savings Tracker study that had been conducted by Ebiquity. Within that research, it was shown that the leading activities to be expected in online and mobile commerce during the holidays will be price comparisons, checking out ideas for gifts, and locating the best deals. These studies showed that these activities may be conducted before leaving to shop, or could occur while in store.

Europe is leading the way in mobile payments

Europe is now the leader in mobile commerce, followed by Asia and North America

Europe is now leading the world in mobile payments, according to a new study from Adyen, a global payment technology company. Consumers throughout Europe have been showing aggressive interest in mobile commerce, and the growth of mobile shopping has been supported by European retailers and the growing popularity of mobile technology. Mobile devices are beginning to play a significant role in the lives of people everywhere, and this is leading to a growing demand for mobile-centric commerce.

Study shows that Europe accounted for 24% of all mobile payments made throughout the world in the third quarter of this year

According to the study from Adyen, 23% of all online payments during the third quarter of this year came from mobile devices. During the second quarter of 2014, 21% of all online payments came from mobile devices. Europe accounted for 24% of all mobile payments made during the fourth quarter, with Asia accounting for 17%. North America has been very slow to embrace mobile commerce in any significant way, but that may change in the future.

The future sustainability of businesses may be tied to mobile technology

Mobile Payments - EuropeAdyen suggests that the future of business lies in the mobile sector. Companies that can adapt to local mobile payment preferences of consumers are likely to find a significant degree of success. Consumers are looking for relatively simple, but robust payment solutions that they can use on their smartphones and tablets. They are also looking for businesses that can satisfy their mobile interests. As such, companies that manage to capture the mobile audience stand to see significant growth.

Security remains a serious problem for the mobile commerce sector and the businesses therein

There are still many challenges that the mobile commerce world faces, one of the most serious of which is security. Many mobile payment platforms lack the security needed to keep consumer information safe. This problem is compounded by the fact that many retailers are somewhat unfamiliar with mobile technology and the risks that exist in the digital world.