Category: Mobile Commerce

Consumers begin growing more interested in mobile commerce

Consumers are becoming increasingly mobile. That does not mean that they are moving around more often; it means that mobile technology is beginning to play a very important role in their daily lives. This trend has become most apparent in the shopping behavior of consumers, who are beginning to rely more heavily on their smartphones and tablets to make purchases. Mobile commerce is on the rise, and it may soon replace traditional retail due to the convenience it offers consumers.

Report shows that consumers are spending more time on mobile shopping

comScore, a leading market research firm, has released a new report titled “State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy Q1 2013.” As the name suggests, the report details the trends that exist as well as those that are emerging in the retail industry of the U.S. The report shows that mobile commerce has begun gaining significant momentum as more consumers begin to favor their smartphones and tablets for shopping online.

Mobile shopping has become an overwhelmingly popular pastime

According to the report, the time that consumers spent in online retail rose by 104% in February of this year over the levels it had been in February of 2010. Consumers spent a cumulative total of 34.9 billion minutes in online shopping, the vast majority of which was devoted to shopping through mobile devices. The report suggests that mobile commerce has become a powerful force in the U.S. retail sector, driving many companies to develop and utilize their own mobile commerce services in order to appeal to consumers.

Smartphones trump tablets when it comes to mobile commerce

The report also shows that smartphones continue to be more popular than tablets when it comes to mobile commerce. As of March 2013, 34% of the time spent by consumers in online shopping came from smartphones, where 14% came from tablet devices. Tablets are gaining some momentum in mobile commerce, however, as they garner acclaim for their larger screens that allow for better navigation and a more enjoyable shopping experience.

The daily deal provider accidentally released its application early, but it is now available for iPads.

Although the element of surprise was no longer available following the false start of the mobile payments tablet POS app from Groupon at the Apple App Store, the application has now been officially released for use by businesses.

The company had previously released the app for download, only to take it back down again hours later.

Following the premature launch, the Groupon mobile payments app was added to the App Store for iPad once more. This application is a new version of its Breadcrumb POS solution. The company is hoping that it will help to broaden its footprint from being relatively limited to bars and restaurants, into all forms of brick and mortar company, instead.

This iPad mobile payments app launch has the potential to replace traditional cash registers.

According to the statement released by the Groupon vice president of merchant OS, Mihir Shah, “With this launch we can help every local business replace their outdated cash registers with a modern, affordable, money-saving tool that allows them to save on credit card transaction fees and run their businesses better.”

Beyond the Breadcrumb POS mobile payments launch, Groupon has also announced that it is rebranding its original point of sale solution – that is, the one that was geared toward restaurants and bars – as its Breadcrumb Pro solution. Both of the available solutions come with the Breadcrumb Payments feature, which allow for quick and easy credit and debit transactions for restaurants and retailers, alike.

Beyond mobile payments credit and debit transaction acceptance, the solution also provides a number of additional features, such as live support, next day deposits, and analytics. However, what many in the industry think will be the primary selling point of the service to businesses will be the guarantee of the lowest rates.

At the moment, Groupon’s mobile payments POS solution comes with a 1.8 percent, plus 15 cents per transaction, fee. Moreover, it also includes free processing for the first $5,000 that the merchant brings in through transactions in its Breadcrumb POS system.