Mobile commerce is showing signs of life

Mobile commerce in the Middle East is beginning to pick up momentum. The availability of smartphones and tablets is on the rise, giving consumers new ways to shop and purchase products over the Internet. E-commerce has held a relatively strong foothold throughout the region, but mobile commerce is beginning to show signs of aggressive growth, powered by the interests of young, tech-savvy consumers. Much of this growth is expected to be seen in Saudi Arabia, where mobile technology penetration is quite high.

PayPal report projects bright future for mobile commerce

PayPal has released a new report concerning mobile commerce in the Middle East. The report shows that mobile transactions currently represent 10% of all online purchases in the region. Mobile commerce is expected to represent 20% of all online sales in the Middle East by 2015. The report notes that shopping from a traditional PC remains dominant in the e-commerce sector, but this will not be the case in the near future as more consumers begin favoring their mobile devices for their shopping.

Mobile payments in Saudi Arabia are likely to grow

In Saudi Arabia, e-commerce is expected to reach $2.7 billion by the end of 2015. Mobile commerce in the country will account for approximately $700 million by that time. The report suggests that tablets will lead the rise of mobile commerce in Saudi Arabia. Many consumers appear to enjoy their shopping experience on tablet devices due to the larger screens and better control options of these devices. Tablets can make mobile commerce more attractive by providing consumers with a memorable and enjoyable shopping experience.

Experience may dictate growth of mobile commerce

Mobile commerce is also expected to make strong progress in Qatar as well, representing $400 million by the end of 2015. Smartphones are likely to become more popular than tablets in the mobile commerce space simply because they are more abundant. Ultimately, the growth of mobile commerce will be determined by consumer experience rather than what device is more readily available to them in the Middle East.

A furniture store in Halifax, Canada is using AR tech to help consumers to picture furniture in their homes.

Many consumers find the process of buying furniture to be a very challenging one, but a store in Halifax, Canada is using augmented reality to help their customers to better picture the way that furniture will appear within their own homes so that they can choose the perfect piece, every time.

The store is using the tech to help to ensure that each piece will not only fit, but that it will look good in its position.

This use of augmented reality can make it much easier for a shopper to be able to know how the finished room will appear, even while still standing in the furniture store. This helps the consumer to overcome the barrier that is often faced when they have to try to picture the piece in the space based on their memories and imagination.

The store is called Lighthouz, and is using augmented reality to assist its smartphone carrying customers.

The company created its own mobile app that leverages augmented reality technology that allows consumers to move about the furniture in their room through the use of the projected image on the small screen. This helps them to obtain a three dimensional concept of how the piece will appear within the actual space.

The owner of Lighthouz, Denise Kroll, explained that “Some people are comfortable buying online, but for many seeing the furniture in person is critical.” She added that “That’s why we’ve complimented our online store and large showroom with this helpful app.”

Kroll explained that the augmented reality allows the customers to view furniture visualizations that are scaled perfectly so that the shopper will be able to know with a good level of confidence that the new piece will not only fit into the space as they had hoped, but that it will look good there, as well. The app also gives users the ability to snap pictures and videos of the furniture that they are considering so that they can share the images on social media. This gives them the opportunity to receive the opinions of their friends and family.