Category: Mobile Commerce

Instagram is a growing force in the mobile commerce sector as it continues to expand therein

Instagram may soon become the most powerful force in social commerce. The social network now boasts of more than 400 million users and has become one of the most prominent engagement platforms in the world. As a mobile-first platform, it has an engagement that is seven times higher than Facebook and Twitter. While Facebook owns Instagram, the social networks operates autonomously but may become one of Facebook’s leading forces in its constant struggle to establish a foothold in the social commerce space.

Social commerce is gaining steam in the digital world as consumers look for new ways to shop online

Social commerce is a relatively new concept. It involves engaging consumers over social networks and exposing them to new products that they may be interested in. Through these networks, consumers can purchase products. This is typically done through mobile devices, as they represent a convenient way to shop online and many of the people that use social networks access these networks with their smartphones and tablets.

Socially-enabled mobile commerce may be the way of the future

PoinSource, a digital marketing agency, suggests that socially-enabled mobile commerce is on the rise. The reason behind this may be because social commerce represents a more intimate and immediate way for consumers to shop online. The fact that Instagram is a mobile-first platform has placed it in an ideal position to take advantage of consumer interests, which it has begun to do tentatively in order to establish a foothold in the emerging mobile commerce market.

User-generated content makes it easy to expose others to popular products

One of the reasons Instagram has become such a powerful force in social commerce is because it relies on user-generated content. Users have found it easy to recommend products they enjoy to their friends and followers, and Instagram has implemented effective call-to-action tools that have encouraged online purchases through the platform. The challenge, however, is for brands to find ways to engage consumers and convert this engagement into purchases online.

This rate of device use in the population is currently sitting among highest levels in all of Europe.

According to a recent survey conducted by CBOS, a pollster firm, the penetration of mobile technology is higher in Poland than it is in most other countries, as 91 percent of the population has a cell phone of some form, which is used regularly.

That said, it should be noted that the penetration of smartphones, specifically, is not incredibly high.

The CBOS survey revealed that only 35 percent of Polish people have smartphones. Another 41 percent have classic or feature cell phones, and 15 percent are owners of both types of this mobile technology. The survey went on to examine the ownership of the various types of cell phone with greater depth in order to gain insight into who is keeping the traditional style of classic device and who is taking the step into the more recent tech by purchasing smartphones.

What was discovered was that the newer the mobile technology, the younger the owners of the devices.

The research determined that the people whose mobile devices were smartphones were more likely to be among the younger age groups. Moreover, those with smartphones were also likely to be better educated than those who were owners of feature phones or classic devices.

According to the report published by CBOS based on this mobile tech ownership survey in Poland, “Over three quarters of [polled] mobile phone users (78 percent) send and receive text messages via their phone. Among the less typical features of mobile phones, the most popular (57 percent) was the onboard camera.”

The survey provided some interesting insight into the ownership and usage of these mobile devices in Poland, as it is clear that the population is interested in this type of tech, but at the same time, the penetration rate of smartphones remains notably lower than it is in many other European countries.

It is likely that the next few years will be defining ones as there will likely be a shift in the type of mobile technology that is owned by various different demographics as has been the case in other similar markets around the world.