Category: Mobile Commerce

The company has also hired their first chief information officer, which was recently announced.

With the goal of enhancing the smartphone based presence, the Chipotle’s Mexican Grill fast-casual chain has announced that it is placing a focus on mobile ordering and payments and that it has hired its first chief information officer.

Curt Garner, formerly the CIO of Starbucks, is now the first person to take this position at Chipotle’s.

This decision to hire a CIO has come at the same time that the company intends to broaden its mobile ordering and payment offerings, two features that are becoming quite commonplace throughout the fast casual and fast food sectors. In this, Chipotle’s is far from alone, as Starbucks, Panera, Domino’s and Taco Bell – among many others – have already been major players in this space. In fact, until now, those companies have been notably more aggressive in their m-commerce efforts than Chipotle’s.

The company believes that strategic expansion of mobile ordering and payments will change the way people interact with fast food.

According to the founder, co-CEO, and chairperson of Chipotle’s, Steve Ells, “We are changing the way people think about and eat fast food.” He added that a central component of the vision of the company is their effort to offer customers the best possible restaurant experience. “As we look for ways to create efficiencies in our restaurants and improve the customer experience through the strategic use of technology, Curt’s experience and expertise make him an ideal and welcome addition to our management team.”

Before moving to Chipotle’s, Garner had held several different technology positions at Starbucks, spanning almost twenty years. That company has been crowned as the current ruler of the mobile payments segment and it has recently expanded its mobile app based ordering, as well, making it possible for customers to skip the line and simply pick up their orders.

This makes Garner a very strategic addition to Chipotle’s, which first announced that it would be rolling out mobile ordering on its Apple Watch app back in April. Not long afterward, officials from the company said they would be focusing on updating their mobile app for better efficiency.

Report predicts significant growth in the US mobile commerce industry

Forrester Research has released a new report concerning the future of the mobile commerce industry in the United States. The report predicts that the sector will experience significant growth, as many consumers are beginning to use their mobile devices to shop online. In the coming years, retailers may find new opportunities to engage mobile consumers and find success, as this demographic is beginning to play a larger and more influential role in the retail industry overall.

More consumers will be shopping with their mobile devices in the coming years

According to the report, mobile commerce transactions are expected to surpass $115 billion this year, surging to $142 billion in 2016. Forrester Research predicts that there mobile devices will generate a 15% increase in e-commerce sales by 2020. Tablets, in particular, will account for 33% of e-commerce sales over the next few years. Consumers have shown that they favor tablet devices while shopping due to their larger screens, which allow for a more convenient shopping experience.

Converting mobile traffic into sales has proven to be difficult

The report shows that nearly one-third of the traffic that merchants are seeing come from mobile devices. The problem, however, is converting this traffic into actual sales. Approximately only 11% of this mobile traffic actually translates into sales. Many retailers have found it challenging to engage mobile consumers effectively. Consumers have reported problems with the mobile shopping experience overall, with slow download speeds and faulty mobile commerce systems being a significant barrier to completing a purchase.

Millennials could be the key to mobile commerce success

The United States has become a very prominent mobile commerce market, but if retailers cannot acclimate to the needs of consumers with smartphones and tablets, they may miss out on promising opportunities. Engaging Millennials may be the key to success, as these consumers have become a powerful force in the mobile commerce industry as a whole. The report from Forrester Research shows that 40% of those between the ages of 16 and 24, throughout the world, are using their mobile devices to shop online every month.