Author: Denny

Mobile commerce is not popular with everyone

Mobile commerce has been gaining steam, largely due to the influence of the holiday season, but there is still a long way to go until consumers feel comfortable with using a mobile device to purchase goods and services. New research from The BIO Agency, a digital agency that specializes in online marketing, shows that many U.S. consumers are leery when it comes to mobile commerce. These consumers suggest that security is their primary concern.

41% claim they will not use their mobile device to make a purchase

According to The BIO Agency, 41% of American consumers refuse to use their smart phone or tablet device to make a purchase online or in a store. This accounts for some 103 million shoppers that are not interested in participating in mobile commerce. The general consensus among these consumers is that cellular and tablet devices are not secure enough to make them comfortable with purchasing products online. Without adequate security features, these consumers are unlikely to adopt mobile commerce in any way.

Security may be primary concern

The research from The BIO Agency shows that mobile commerce adoption is highest among younger consumers. Those between the ages of 18 and 24 are most likely to make purchases online using a mobile device, with entertainment products being the most popular. Generally, older consumers are more leery of mobile commerce. This may come from a lack of understanding regarding how mobile commerce works, but many suggest that mobile security must be improved before they can feel comfortable with mobile payments, whether they understand how these payments work or not.

Slow adoption may create problems for mobile commerce in the future

Several industries are investing heavily in mobile commerce. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, shoppers favored their mobile devices when purchasing products, providing a massive amount of momentum behind mobile commerce. This strong showing has secured strong support for mobile commerce, but if consumers continue to resist adoption, this burgeoning industry may be facing significant problems in the future.

Mobile games generate significant profits

Mobile applications represent a huge and massively lucrative market. According to Flurry, a leading analytic firm operating in the mobile space, mobile applications accounted for $10 billion in revenue during 2012. The firm has released a report concerning the lucrative mobile applications business, which highlights the impact of free mobile games. The report shows that though free mobile games do not cost anything to play, that account for the majority of the revenue seen in the mobile applications market.

80% of revenue generated through free mobile games

Mobile games are among the most popular applications that are available to consumers with smart phones and tablets. These games often provide hours of entertainment and are typically designed to be very addicting. For many, mobile games are valuable assets because most of these games are free-to-play. Most of these games are filled with advertisements, however, which is part of the reason why they are generating so much money. According to the Flurry report, free mobile games accounted for 80% of the $10 billion in revenue the app market saw t his year.

In-app advertisements help generate revenue

In-app advertisements are not the only thing generating income for mobile games. Many games come equipped with a “cash shop,” which offers bonuses, new equipment, and exclusive features to gamers that want to spend money on the game itself. These cash shop marketplaces are very common in free-to-play games and account for the majority of the revenue they manage to generate. The report also shows that consumers spend large amounts of time on free-to-play games, thus increasing the likelihood that they will purchase something from the cash shop.

Free-to-play games are a lucrative business

The free-to-play model has become very lucrative for developers of mobile games. The report suggests that most developers have yet to identify the ideal niche in which these types of games flourish. Companies like Electronic Arts and Zynga have managed to find a way to make free-to-play games highly appealing to consumers with some cash to spend. Though the latter has been experiencing financial problems of late, Electronic Arts may serve as a powerful example of how to develop games that emphasis participation in a cash shop.