Powa Technologies unveils its new mobile platform
Powa Technologies, an e-commerce startup based in the United Kingdom, has unveiled its flagship products, called PowaTag. The startup has raised more than $100 million in funding from various sources over the past several months. Much of this funding has gone into the development of PowaTag and the company’s various other initiatives. PowaTag may grow to become a very prominent mobile commerce platform through its use of QR codes and voice recognition technology.
New platform designed to be an expansive solution for both retailers and consumers
PowaTag is designed to be a sort of all-in-one platform, allowing consumers with more flexibility when it comes to mobile payments. The platform is also designed to be an appealing solution for brands and retailers that have become very interested in engaging with a mobile audience. This is becoming increasingly important for retailers as consumers become more reliant on their mobile devices. If a retailer or brand is unable to engage these consumers effectively, they could fall victim to obscurity.
QR codes are becoming popular mobile payments tools
Powa Technologies has also created PowaTags, which are essentially branded QR codes. The company claims that some 240 brands have signed up to make use of PowaTags and these codes may soon be appearing in magazines and newspapers in the coming months. QR codes have already established a strong position in advertising, but they are also beginning to become very popular in the mobile commerce space. These codes can be used to make mobile shopping more convenient and help consumers authenticate mobile payments.
Powa Technologies may be able to compete with the crowd of other startups that are working in the mobile commerce sector
While Powa Technologies has managed to win a great deal of support from various sources, there is still a significant amount of competition that the startup must overcome. Powa Technologies may not yet be ready to compete with the large companies that have entered into the mobile commerce field, such as Google, but it could edge out the numerous other startups that are seeking to provide mobile-centric services to consumers and businesses alike.
Consumers are finding that mcommerce was alright for a date or two but seem less interested in a long term relationship.
According to a recent study, many consumers have now tried mobile commerce and are starting to become disenchanted with its frustrating, slow, clunky, and tiny experience.
Some analysts are now wondering if mcommerce could have been a fad and that larger screens could come back.
Evidence of this was revealed in research conducted by PwC U.S. Retail & Consumer practice. What they found was that when it comes to the way that shoppers now feel about mobile commerce, it seems that they are starting to see the experience as old news and that it was more a matter of hype and novelty than actual practical convenience. Many consumers find that the screens on their smartphones are simply too small to comfortably shop and that the mcommerce website experience provided by retailers is just too clunky.
Instead of mobile commerce, many consumers are now returning to their laptops and desktops.
The report issued based on the study used responses from 15,000 online shoppers worldwide. The conclusions drawn from this data are that retailers will need to step out beyond the attempt to simply make sure that they have an omnichannel presence to ensure that they are actually meeting the growing expectations of their customers. It also pointed out that while shoppers are increasingly open to using their smartphones and tablets to compare and to buy, they are also rapidly becoming disenchanted with the experience once they do give it a try.
Among the American respondents in the study, 37 percent said that the concerns over security are preventing them from using their smartphones for making a purchase. Another 33 percent said that the screen is simply too small, while 32 percent said that they don’t actually own a mobile device.
The advice that was given by the report was that many retailers might actually be better served by giving up on expanding their push for mobile commerce platforms and placing a greater focus on what their shoppers actually want. It isn’t that the report claims that there is no future for mcommerce. In fact, they stated that consumers see multichannel shopping as a given. However, the complexities and cost of this experience are proving to be too great for many retailers and have yet to offer adequate rewards. For the sake of survival and current success, some businesses may be better off placing a far better focus on what they know actually works.
