Author: Stephen

Mobile commerce may be the future of India’s retail industry

| April 22, 2013

Retailers seeing a marked rise in mobile commerce demand

E-commerce has grown to become a formidable force in India. The country’s retail sector has been working to appeal to consumers in a more dynamic way, now that many of these consumers have access to smartphones and tablets. These devices are beginning to change the way consumers shop online, making India’s traditional e-commerce initiatives somewhat outdated an unintuitive. As more consumers become mobile, retailers are beginning to consider whether the time is right to embrace mobile commerce more seriously.

Mobile technology expanding rapidly in IndiaIndia Mobile Commerce

The proliferation of smartphones and tablets is causing retailers to examine how to better engage consumers that are tethered to mobile devices. The best answer may be to adopt better mobile commerce services and ensure that e-commerce platforms are more accommodating to mobile devices. Currently, much the retailer industry’s online presence is built around those that shop online using their PCs. This means that e-commerce platforms are, generally, not optimized to be used for mobile devices, making it difficult for mobile consumers to shop and purchase products online.

Mobile commerce provides strong examples in other markets

Mobile commerce has already seen strong growth in other countries, such as  the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In these countries, mobile commerce has helped several retailers find an impressive amount of success. According to a recent report from BI Intelligence, a leading market research firm, approximately 29% of mobile users in the U.S. have made a purchase through their smartphone or tablet. Many of these purchases were reported in the retail sector.

Retailers beginning to see a need to adapt to mobile consumers

Myntra, a leading seller of fashion and lifestyle products in India, notes that it has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people interested in participating in mobile commerce. This is partly due to the mass deployment of new mobile devices throughout the country. Consumers may be interested in mobile commerce due to its relatively new nature and the novelty that provides, but Myntra notes that demand is beginning to grow to the point where mobile commerce can no longer be ignored.

Survey shows mobile games are growing more important among employers

| April 19, 2013

mobile gamesMobile games may be more than entertainment tools

A new survey from WorldatWork and Buck Consultants suggests that mobile games may be growing more important among large organizations. Mobile games are already wildly popular among consumers ,many of whom participate in gaming as a form of entertainment. The survey suggests, however, that these games could be used as tools to promote healthy living among employees. This may be accurate, as mobile games have been used in the past as education tools to encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles or, in some cases, learn new languages.

Survey shows that employers are beginning to show strong interest in mobile games

According to the survey, which polled some 408 organizations across a broad spectrum of industries, 52% of organizations claim they are strongly considering adopting online and mobile games to promote health engagement among employees over the next three years. Approximately 73% of respondents claimed that these games could be used to encourage employees to improve and monitor their health. Some 32% of these organizations already use mobile technology to manage health care benefits in some way, and the initiatives currently in place could serve as a decent platform for exposing employees to mobile games.

Games show strength in education

Mobile games have been growing more popular in the field of education. Teachers have been seeing positive results from “gamifying” schoolwork, which involves introducing gaming elements into the learning process, often accomplished through using actual games. The education field has even become a very prominent market for the game industry, with many developers focusing exclusively on developing games designed for education.

Health and wellness could help cut insurance costs

According to the survey, 50% of employers already use one or more social networking platform or application to increase health care engagement among employees. One of the reasons organizations may be so interested in promoting healthy living is tied to health insurance. Health insurance costs can, in some cases, be reduced if companies adopt health and wellness programs designed to address the needs of those receiving employer-sponsored coverage.