Mobile Commerce News

Category: Featured News

Mobile commerce rakes in $12.84 billion in 2012

Dan Gendro | January 19, 2013

Mobile commerce set for aggressive growth, according to Forrester Research

Forrester Research, a leading market research firm, has released a new report concerning the performance of mobile commerce in 2012. Last year, more consumers made purchases from their mobile devices than ever before. This may be due to the larger number of people with mobile devices or the more comprehensive mobile commerce services that they have access to. Whatever the case may be, the report shows that mobile commerce had a strong showing throughout 2012, and this momentum is likely to carry the sector to new heights in the future.

Report shows proximity payments drive mobile commerce growth

According to Forrester Research, mobile commerce accounted for $12.84 billion in mobile payments by the end of 2012.The report divides mobile payments into three categories: Mobile proximity payments, peer-to-peer payments, and retail mobile commerce. The report shows that proximity payments, those powered by NFC technology, were one of the most popular ways for consumers to pay for products in physical stores. The report also shows that QR codes used to facilitate mobile transactions were also well received by consumers.

Mobile transactions to grow by 601% by the end of 2017

Forrester Research predicts that the mobile commerce sector will account for more than $90.5 billion in transactions by the end of 2017, a 601% increase over the transactions the sector had seen last year. NFC technology is still a major part of mobile commerce, so proximity payments are likely to continue being a popular option for consumers. Some parties are looking to move away from the technology, however, due to concerns regarding the security of a consumer’s financial information.

Some look for alternatives to NFC technology

Companies like Apple and PayPal are looking for alternative to NFC technology. Both companies are currently developing their own solutions, with PayPal’s mobile wallet service proving to be a somewhat popular alternative. The majority of the companies involved in mobile commerce, however, support NFC technology and its ability to facilitate mobile payments and keep consumers safe from exploitation.

Sony hints at mobile gaming with Playstation 4

Denny | January 19, 2013

Sony takes note of the rise of mobile gaming

The game industry has long been restricted to stationary consoles and PCs. In the advent of mobile technology, the industry was able to enter into a new market by creating games that could be played on smart phones and tablets. Sony is one of the largest companies in the game industry, and one that has a formidable presence in the mobile gaming space. Though the company has attributed a great deal of value to mobile gaming, it is unwilling to break away from its console roots, which may make the Playstation 4 much more interesting.

One Sony initiative could give Playstation 4 some mobility

Sony Vice President Hiroshi Sakamoto recently suggested that the Playstation 4 could launch as soon a May this year. Despite the possibility of a launch, there is still very little information available for the next generation console, apart from the fact that it is part of the “One Sony” initiative. One Sony is an internal campaign that aims to establish universal compatibility and connectivity between all Sony gaming devices, consoles or otherwise. This idea can be seen in the connectivity between the Playstation 3 and the PS Vita.

Mobile gaming beginning to compete with consoles

Sony notes that traditional consoles are likely to experience a great deal of competition with mobile gaming platforms. The growing popularity of mobile gaming, as well as the increasing capabilities of mobile technology, could threaten the position that consoles hold within the game industry one day. Sony is keen to avoid any significant impact from the continued success of mobile devices by making sure that future consoles will be able to synergize with these devices.

Sony eager to create link between mobile and console games

Gamers tend to be a flexible, if somewhat fickle, bunch. Many people enjoy traditional consoles and are looking forward to what Sony has in store with the Playstation 4. These people also enjoy mobile games and Sony believes that combining the interest gamers have in console and mobile gaming will help the company beat out its competition in the upcoming console wars, wherein Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will be fighting for the adoration of gamers all over the world.