Author: Lucy

Analysis suggests mobile shopping may have reached a plateau

| September 1, 2015

According to IMRG analysts, there may not be any real m-commerce growth going on at the moment.

Could it be possible that mobile shopping has reached its peak for the moment? If the data revealed by analysts at IMRG are correct, there may not have been any rise in the proportion of sales that have used mobile platforms over the previous three months.

The data included in the research that was conducted involved both smartphone and tablet use.

The trends that mobile shopping has seen over the last few years have shown that it has been experiencing solid growth every single quarter for the last half decade in the United Kingdom. However, the last quarter broke that streak as m-commerce didn’t see a quarterly rise in its use within the country during the previous quarter. What this suggests is that the country may be reaching the point in which there is a balance between shopping on PCs and over mobile devices. This, according to Internet Retailing.

Five years ago, only 0.9 percent of e-commerce occurred over mobile shopping devices.

Mobile Shopping has hit a plateauHowever, that figure from this year has reached a considerable 42 percent of online purchases. What is important about the finding from this recent research is that although the amount of money that is being spent over m-commerce seems to have leveled off and has reached its uppermost point for the moment, the number of web visits that are taking place via smartphones and tablets is still experiencing steady growth.

In fact, during this year’s second quarter, it was estimated that about 60 percent of all site visits are occurring from mobile technology devices. This is a rise of 2 percent from the same time three months earlier.

What that appears to show is that even if people aren’t using their mobile devices at any greater rate to make purchases, mobile shopping is still going on with other purposes in mind. The final purchase isn’t necessarily occurring online, but people are checking out stores, brands, products, reviews, and other information while they are using their smartphones and tablets. They are then proceeding to use their laptops or going to brick and mortar stores to buy what they have found.

Customers can now buy the Apple Watch without an appointment

| August 24, 2015

Customers can now head to the retail stores and try on the devices without booking it, first.

Consumers who are interested in checking out the Apple Watch in retail stores without having to make an appointment are finally able to do so now that the appointments requirement has been lifted.

This makes it possible for shoppers to simply walk in to an Apple Store without booking an appointment in advance.

The tech giant wants customers to now be able to simply walk into the stores at their next convenience and give the Apple Watch a try, without having to go through the additional effort and scheduling involved in making an appointment and keeping it. This smartwatch first started selling in retail stores in the United States in April. However, since that time, the company had required shoppers to schedule a time in which they could come by one of the stores in order to try out the product and potentially purchase one. However, the appointments are now becoming an optional part of the experience in order to further streamline it and add convenience to the opportunity to shop for this product.

The appointments for the Apple Watch had previously required shoppers to use an Apple ID and choose a time.

Apple Watch - Purchase without appoinmentThat said, the Apple store is breaking away from that necessity. While it is still possible for shoppers to schedule those appointments if that is how they wish to shop for the device, the company has now confirmed that the policy has changed and these appointments are no longer compulsory.

Some shoppers have previously reported that, depending on the Apple Store location, there wasn’t necessarily a strict enforcement of the appointment making process for the smartwatches, this change in policy certainly indicates that Apple is seeking to make it easier for shoppers to be able to check out its wearable technology in person and then actually buy what they like.

So far, the response from fans of the brand has been a positive one on social media and in online comments, as removing the appointments for the Apple Watch makes the shopping process a much less complicated and fussy one, and makes it possible for people to simply try out the product and potentially buy it at the time that is best suited to their lives and schedules, even if that includes dropping by the shop on a whim.