Author: Denny

Mobile commerce to get more physical with eBay’s help

| May 3, 2013

eBay Mobile Commerce

eBay continues to shine the limelight on mobile commerce

For several years, eBay has dominated the e-commerce scene, with only Amazon considered to be its most significant competitor. The online retailer has put a great deal of emphasis in improving the online shopping experience of consumers and has recently begun to embrace more commerce in an aggressive fashion. Indeed, eBay anticipates that mobile commerce will account for a significant portion of its sales in the coming years. This week, CEO John Donahoe outlined plans to take the company in a relatively new direction: Offline commerce.

Retailer aims to blur the lines between physical and digital commerce

Donahoe is eager to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds when it comes to commerce. This has been accomplished to some degree by eBay already through the adoption of mobile commerce. Consumers shopping for products from their mobile devices have shown how blurry the lines between physical and digital retail have become. This summer, eBay plans to partner with several retailers in order to make mobile commerce have an even more tangible presence in the real world.

Pop up shops gaining notice

According to Donahoe, eBay will be working to support “pop up” shops this year. The idea behind pop up shops is somewhat simple: A store front that can be located anywhere and sell products online to those using mobile devices. These shops are becoming more popular in the retail industry, especially when it comes to retailers trying to reach out to busy consumers. In 2011, UK retailer Tesco created a pop up shop in South Korea, where QR codes where used to sell products to consumers using public transit. eBay has plans to follow in Tesco’s footsteps to some degree.

New York may soon have new pop up shops

The online retailer will be leveraging the power of QR codes in order to sell products. These codes can be scanned by a mobile device to initiate a mobile transaction. The products are then delivered to a consumer’s home or elsewhere as defined by the customer. PayPal and eBay already have strong ties to several physical retailers and expect that this initiative will be well received. The retailer plans to launch this new initiative this year in New York.

Mobile games find success through mobile marketing

| May 1, 2013

Mobile Marketing success for mobile games

Mobile games may be an ideal platform for marketing

The mobile space has managed to carve out a very important place in the world of business. The advent of mobile technology has forced companies both large and small to take mobile more seriously, leveraging their resources to connect with an emerging generation of mobile consumers. Mobile marketing, however, has proven difficult for the business world, with display advertisements and banners posting lackluster results. Mobile games appear to be showing the most success when it comes to marketing, but businesses have traditionally considered games to be novelty at best.

Report highlights investments behind mobile games

According to a recent report from Digi-Capital, an investment bank, investments in mobile games spiked by 35% in the first quarter of this year. Investments in every other gaming fields showed only modest growth at best, if not declines in certain aspects. Despite this growth, the investments behind mobile games are leveling off as investors begin to grow shrewder and small development companies either go out of business or are assimilated into their larger counterparts.

Market showing signs of maturing

Some would argue that investors showing more concern for the mobile games space is a sign that the market is on the verge of a fall. This may not be the case, however, as the market is beginning to show signs of maturity and stabilization. New developers are entering the field at a rapid rate and mobile marketing has helped many of these developers find the success they need to continue producing mobile games. Moreover, new business models are emerging that are proving very popular among consumers, as is the case with the free-to-play model.

Marketing helps mobile games thrive

Mobile games have thrived off the effective use of mobile marketing strategies. In-game advertisements are seen by all those playing games. While many gamers may not actively engage in these advertisements, a significant portion of these gamers are willing to do so simply to remove their presence on the screen of their mobile device. If these advertisements are catered to the interests of consumers, they are more likely to see engagement.