Author: Denny

Shoppers throughout the 13 nations that make up the Asia Pacific marketplace use smartphones more regularly.

According to the results of a recent survey that was conducted by Visa, consumers throughout the 13 countries that make up the APAC marketplace have claimed that they have been using mobile shopping to make purchases at a considerably greater rate than ever before.

In fact, the survey results showed that the gap between e- and m-commerce is notably shrinking.

The survey compared the use of mobile shopping this year over what it was in 2014, and it determined that the market had experienced an increase of 22 percent among consumers in Asia Pacific countries. Moreover, the research also determined that there are now more consumers in that region of the world who are paying their bills and who are making product purchases by way of smartphones and desktops than there are those who make those same transactions over desktop computers.

The mobile shopping figures were published within the 2015 Regional E-commerce Monitor Survey from Visa.

The countries in the APAC region that experienced the largest amount of growth were Indonesia, China and Taiwan. They saw a growth of m-commerce use of 36, 34 and 28 percent, respectively. These figures were based on the responses that were given by 11,760 respondents who reside throughout the 13 different Asia Pacific nations. Also among those countries are Vietnam, India, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

The Visa survey found that consumers in Thailand were equally as likely to make a purchase over a mobile device as they were over a laptop or desktop computer. The report on the research also indicated that the gap between the use of mobile and desktop computers for commerce was decreasing in several countries including South Korea, China and Indonesia.

According to Conor Lynch, the director of regional e-commerce at Visa, the findings of the survey have revealed a rising “norm” in making purchase through mobile shopping channels. “As consumers get more comfortable using their smart devices to research, browse, and purchase, m-commerce should soon overtake traditional e-commerce habits, strengthening this channel of engagement between consumers and retailers,” he said.

Companies have invested in India’s leading mobile commerce organization, Paytm

Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial Services have made an investment in Paytm, a prominent mobile commerce company based in India. The two companies have invested $680 million in Paytm, which will provide the firm with the financial support it needs to continue expanding its services in India. Alibaba continues to show strong interest in mobile commerce in other countries and has become one of the major competitors in the mobile payments market in Asia.

Investments will help Paytm expand its services in order to better engage consumers

The investment will help Paytm scale up and continue developing is mobile commerce ecosystem. Some of the funds will go toward marketing the company’s services, developing new payment technologies, and hiring additional staff. Earlier this year, Paytm also received an investment from Alipay, which is Alibaba’s mobile commerce unit operated by Ant Financial Services. The amount invested by Alipay was undisclosed, but provided significant support to Paytm.

India is becoming a very attractive mobile commerce market

Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, notes that India has become a very promising mobile commerce market. E-commerce has thrived in the country and more consumers are beginning to use their smartphones in order to shop online. Smartphone adoption has accelerated, which has furthered the exposure of consumers to the concept of mobile commerce, which many have fallen in love with. Shopping with a mobile device often represents a more convenient way for consumers to get their shopping done, especially for those that have long commutes.

Companies are showing strong interest in India’s mobile market

Several foreign companies have begun showing interest in India’s mobile commerce space. These companies are showing support for various mobile payments firms in the country, which is increasing the competition in the market. With increases competition, firms are beginning to feel pressure to provide better mobile commerce services to consumers. They are also seeking to form better partnerships with financial service firms in India and banks that have also taken an interest in the mobile space.