MasterCard is predicting that by 2018, the use of smartphones and tablets for purchasing will be widespread.
MasterCard has just released its latest predictions regarding mobile payments, which have shown that it believes that the market will become mainstream by the year 2018.
Not coincidentally, this announcement coincided with the unveiling of its new MasterPass product.
The new MasterCard MasterPass mobile payments product will be launching later on in 2013 and will allow consumers to tap, touch, and click their smartphones in order to complete transactions to make purchases. This service also supports NFC technology, tags, QR codes, and other forms of checkout within a brick and mortar shop.
MasterCard is hoping that this will help to move past the struggle mobile payments has seen until now.
Jorn Lambert, the MasterCard Europe group head for emerging payments, has stated that the hope is that after years of experiencing false starts, the habits of consumers are now changing, meaning that this year will be the start of mobile payments truly gong mainstream. He explained that “For me, the train has left the station on this. Consumer behaviour around tagging and the like is becoming more and more mainstream.”
He has been a part of the development of the mobile payments service which is predicted to be launched later this year. He explained that the company’s data is indicating that within three to five years, this will be one of the methods that consumers will expect to have available to them for making payments. He said that this will occur with or without the credit card giant, so it is vital for that company to launch this MasterPass product.
Lambert also revealed that he felt strongly about the rumors that have long been circulating about the first steps that Apple and Google will be making into the mobile payments market in Europe, and that this will be important to speeding up the pace of adoption by consumers. He stated that he would be very surprised if either of those companies chose to create its own acceptance brand and created the structures for managing the risk in the credit ecosystem that are currently developed by the industry itself.
However, he is hopeful that they will move forward with mobile payments as this will be an important catalyst.
Report highlights the marketing potential of mobile games
Mobile games are beloved by many due to the entertainment they can provide. They may have largely untapped marketing potential, however, according to a new report from ForeSights, a leading market research firm. The report highlights mobile games as marketing tools, suggesting that they can be used to promote products and services to a wide range of consumers. Consumers have shown that they are willing to participate in marketing that they find in mobile games, which has turned many of these games into effective marketing tools for those that know how to appeal to gamers.
Report identifies trends in mobile gaming
The report from ForeSights touches upon new opportunities emerging in mobile marketing, focusing on trends that are bringing marketing more in line with mobile gaming. These trends include willingness among consumers in engaging mobile advertisements that offer an interactive experience, rather than just directing them to a product website. Gamification of mobile advertisements has proven popular among consumers, especially those that have a strong love for mobile games.
Challenges exist that could make marketing difficult
There are some challenges in using mobile games as a marketing tool. A large portion of mobile gamers are young, between the ages of 12 and 17. Many of these people make use of their parent’s mobile devices in order to play mobile games. In recent years, collecting data from these consumers have become very controversial and it is becoming more common for young consumers to “mis-click” advertisements, constituting their unwilling participating in a marketing campaign. This can be particularly problematic if advertisements link directly to an e-commerce site, where it is easy to purchase products without actually intending to do so.
Developers show willingness to cater to advertisers
In-game advertisements are the primary way for developers of mobile games to generate revenue. Many developers design their games specifically with the concept of advertising in mind, but many of these games see little interest from advertisers that could see major benefits from engaging gamers. Mobile games have the ability to capture the attention of consumers and keep them focused on participating in gaming elements, if advertisers can find a way to do the same, mobile games may become the next major marketing tool.
