Mobile commerce is growing in Europe
Commerce is changing around the world, driven partly by the growing proliferation of mobile technology. Mobile devices are enabling consumers to shop and make purchases in a new way. Initially, the concept of mobile commerce was relatively unpopular due to the perceived inconvenience of using smartphones and tablets to replace traditional forms of currency. Mobile commerce has proven, however, to be extremely popular among consumers. This much became evident during the 2012 holiday season, where mobile commerce found a great deal of traction with consumers in several parts of the world.
Report highlights the progress e-commerce is making in Italy
The Netcomm Observatory has published a new report concerning the growth mobile commerce has seen in Italy. Mobile commerce activity has been relatively low in the country, but consumers are growing more acclimated to the prospect of using their mobile devices to purchase products. The report from Netcomm shows that e-commerce users reached a peak of 14 million during the Christmas holiday of 2012. Many of these consumers were involved in mobile commerce, purchasing and shopping for products from their smartphones and tablets.
Italy’s commerce scene is beginning to change
The report notes that mobile commerce sales in Italy last year came in at approximately $9.6 billion, with most of these sales being made during the holiday season. The report also notes that mobile commerce and e-commerce have been showing promising progress this year. According to the report, e-commerce sales are estimated to be more than $11.3 billion so far this year. Many of these sales have also been made through mobile commerce platforms.
Europe continues to see a revolution in commerce
Mobile commerce is beginning to pick up momentum in Italy and has yet to show signs of slowing down. Netcomm expects that mobile commerce alone with account for more than $430 million in sales this year and this does not account for the sales made through tablet devices. This trend is not unique to Italy, of course, as mobile commerce is has been making strong progress throughout Europe.
Latin America to receive new options in terms of mobile payments
Clip, a mobile payments company, has announced that it has successfully raised some $1.5 million in funding recently. The funding will be used to bring the company’s mobile payments services to Spanish-speaking parts of the world. Clip suggests that mobile point-of-sale systems are relatively uncommon in these parts of the world, effectively prohibiting numerous consumers from participating in mobile payments in any significant fashion. Clip expects that in offering its services to Spanish-speaking consumers will encourage these people to embrace mobile commerce.
Clip backed by powerful and useful experience in commerce
Clip itself is a relatively new startup, but the company is backed by talent personnel that have extensive experience in mobile commerce. The company was founded by Adolfo Babaya, whom had worked as PayPal’s Customer Engagement Latin America department in the past. Backed by this experience, Babaya is well equipped to enable Clip to engage a wide assortment of Spanish-speaking consumers throughout Latin America.
Mobile commerce has yet to establish foothold in Latin America
Latin America is a relatively unpopular market when it comes to the matter of mobile commerce. This is somewhat unfortunate given the high penetration of mobile technology throughout the region. Consumers in several countries in this region have shown their interest in shopping online, making use of the various e-commerce platforms that are available to them. Mobile commerce has yet to take hold in any significant fashion, but this is not just due to the lack of mobile payments services. Banks and other financial services firms throughout Latin America have expressed security concerns regarding mobile commerce as a whole.
Consumers expected to embrace mobile payments from Clip
With Clip introducing new mobile payments opportunities to consumers, mobile commerce may be able to establish a stronger foothold in a very economically active region of the world. Consumers are likely to respond well to the introduction of Clip’s services. Retailers are expected to benefit from the company’s services as well, as there are currently very few mobile point-of-sale solutions available to retailers in this part of the world.
