Category: Mobile Commerce

Mobile shopping takes off with shift in retail habits

This, according to the results of a recent study that was conducted by Synchrony Financial.

Consumer financial services firm, Synchrony Financial has released the results of its 2015 Digital Study that underscores the importance of mobile shopping strategies for retailers that want to boost their customer experience and engage their shoppers.

The survey was held throughout March and April of this year, with the participation of 7,000 of the firm’s customers.

The customers were selected at random from throughout the country. The purpose was to build a better understanding of the way in which customers view mobile shopping in the retail experience, and what they expect from the offerings over their smartphones and tablets. There were a number of key findings that identified some important trends to retailers that will be keeping a focus on the tech expectations of consumers.

Among the primary findings of the study was that nearly 50 percent of respondents use mobile shopping.

Survey - Mobile ShoppingNearly one third of the survey participants will purchase a product after having seen it on social media. Moreover, it was also pointed out that about the same number of respondents to the survey said that the receipt of offers via text would push them to make an incremental shopping visit. Additional value offers, such as loyalty programs, free shipping, and personalized offers also proved to continue to be important to the people who completed this survey.

The report indicated that consumers are using mobile technology to an increasing degree. Adoption of m-commerce has been rising among central segments of the population. Of all of the study’s respondents, 45 percent said that at some point this year, they had already used a smartphone or tablet in order to complete a task that is related to shopping, such as reading or leaving reviews, researching a product, brand or store, sharing information over social media, or actually making a purchase. This represented an increase of 4 percent over the figure from 2014. When compared to 2013, it represented an increase of 9 percent.

As mobile shopping habits continue to be an increasingly important trend among all mobile devices and all age groups of shoppers, the report showed that retail habits are also continuing to change.

PayPal is setting a greater focus on mobile commerce

As a standalone company, PayPal is adopting a mobile-first strategy

PayPal is now a standalone company being traded on the Nasdaq and it has adopted a mobile-first strategy. The company has come to establish a very prominent position in the mobile commerce space, where it has become one of the more influential entities therein. As the company has now become separate from its former owner eBay, PayPal will adopt a greater focus on the mobile sector. This focus may further increase the company’s standing in the mobile commerce market.

PayPal looks to expand its existing mobile solutions

According to PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, PayPal is set to become a mobile-first platform through the development of new mobile products. The company will also work to enhance its existing mobile solutions, which include those developed by Venmo, Braintree, and Xoom. Braintree, in particular, is expected to become a more prominent tool for PayPal, due to its expertise in the mobile commerce space.

Improving mobile platforms will allow PayPal to engage more consumers

PayPal - Mobile Commerce FocusPayPal also intends to drive higher levels of engagement through the mobile space. Part of the company’s strategy involves the introduction of new services that will be used on a variety of mobile platforms. PayPal will be expanding its one-click purchasing feature, called One Touch. The company is also working on making its payment processing faster. PayPal has already succeeding in increasing this processing speed by 50%.

In-store mobile commerce is a new opportunity for PayPal

The company is also looking to capitalize on in-store mobile payments. These payments are becoming more popular among retailers that are looking for new ways of effectively engaging mobile consumers. In-store mobile payments may be a good opportunity for PayPal to expand beyond the digital space, as it can offer retailers with an effective way to participate in the mobile commerce sector. Several retailers have already embraced PayPal as a way to allow consumers to make purchases directly from their mobile devices, rather than having to use traditional forms of commerce, such as physical currency and credit cards.