A growing number of people looking for a new vehicle are turning to apps to help them buy.
If you’re going to be shopping for a car in the near future, the odds are that if you have a smartphone or a tablet, you’ll consider using a mobile commerce app to help you to make your decision.
Though consumers have been comfortable with small purchases for a while, larger ones are making headway.
Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable in using mobile commerce to shop for smaller items such as music and ebook downloads, clothing, and tickets, the bigger ticket purchases have been a tougher go. But it has now reached the point that consumers are using their devices for so many different daily tasks, that they are feeling quite natural in picking up their smartphones and tablets in order to look into more expensive items such as cars.
This willingness to consider mobile commerce for a purchase as big as a car is a massive step in this area.
According to the High Gear Media vice president of product management, Jeff Birkeland, “There’s this huge upheaval in terms of mobile usage and mobile behavior.” Birkeland’s publication is responsible for The Car Connection website as well as its app. He added that “People are looking to not only research cars but actually take action and connect to a dealer and do some business on mobile.”
This indicates that people are now becoming comfortable enough with mobile commerce that they’re not just using it to surf around and find out what’s out there. They’re also using their devices to locate a dealer and complete a number of other actions, from comparing models to researching prices and seeking out deals.
Often, through the use of mobile commerce apps and sites, car shoppers are heading to the dealership already completely informed about what they want and how much it will cost. They are walking onto the sales floor armed with a great deal more information and are better prepared for what is likely to be a very large and potentially emotional purchase, enhancing their overall experience.
Visa has high hopes for mobile payments in Asia
Visa has been showing a great deal of attention to the emerging mobile payments scene in Asia. The region has become one of the most active places in the world when it comes to mobile commerce, largely due to the aggressive steps that retailers are taking and the growing proliferation of smartphones and tablets. Visa is one among several financial service firms that have been working to establish a strong presence in the mobile payments sector of Asia and the company sees a great deal of promise in several of the markets located within this region.
Asian Pacific sees a great deal of mobile commerce activity
According to Visa, mobile payments are likely to thrive in markets where card payments are already very common. The company anticipates that mobile payments will see the most aggressive growth in Australia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which are quickly establishing themselves as hubs for ambitious mobile commerce projects located in the Asian Pacific. The company notes that Japan is also a likely place to see strong growth in mobile payments, due to the fact that many consumers in the country already use their mobile devices to purchase transit tickets.
Security remains a problematic issue
Consumers that regularly use their mobile devices have shown a great deal of comfort when it comes to mobile commerce. These people have been able to acclimate to the idea of mobile payments more easily than those that do not use their smartphones and tablets on a regular basis. There are universal concerns that exist within this sector, of course, the most prominent of which happens to be security. The threat of financial information being stolen and exploited has proven to be a prohibitive issue to many consumers throughout the world.
Asia could present lucrative opportunities to mobile commerce firms
Visa is not solely focused on Asia with its mobile payments endeavors. The company is currently involved in various projects that are taking place around the world. Visa’s primary interest is to make consumers comfortable with mobile payments, but notes that there is a great deal of promise in Asian markets that could prove lucrative to those that manage to provide comprehensive mobile commerce services to the consumers that are demanding them.
