Companies begin to consider mobile security a priority

Privacy has become more than a regulatory measure that online companies must wrangle with on a daily basis. As consumers begin to favor their mobile devices more, privacy has become a major concern for them, especially when it comes to mobile marketing and mobile security. Online companies are now fighting to prove that their privacy measures are much more comprehensive than those coming from their competitors, all in a bid to ensure that consumers have control over the data they share with the business world.

Mozilla takes steps to protect privacy

Many companies are adopting a very firm stance on the issue of privacy. Such is the case with Mozilla, which holds a very strong presence in the web browser market. Mozilla has announced that it will allow users of its Firefox browser to completely disable all third-party tracking methods in order to provide them with more security while online. This extends to the company’s recently unveiled mobile operating system, which could have major implications for the world of mobile marketing and mobile security.

Apple and Facebook look to improve mobile security

Mozilla is not alone in its enthusiasm concerning mobile security. Apple has begun requiring application on its popular App Store to receive permission from consumers before collecting geographic information and other data. Facebook, which has long been plagued by accusations of carelessness when it comes to privacy, has also been making moves to become more secure for users. The social network is currently working on a variety of privacy tools, one of which keeps a user’s personal data stored on a cloud network.

Government interest spurs action on mobile security

Much of the enthusiasm concerning mobile security may be due to the fact that the U.S. government is beginning to force companies to take the matter more seriously. The Federal Communications Commission recently introduced new regulations that require applications to inform their users that personal information is being collected. Demand for better privacy and mobile security measures has also been on the rise among consumers, forcing companies to take more considerations when it comes to protecting information.

Final quarter data has now revealed that nearly a quarter of its online sales were over mobile devices.

QVC has become the latest believer in the success available through m-commerce as it saw an exceptionally strong performance over that channel in the last quarter of 2012.

This represented an increase of 60 percent in its sales over smartphones and tablets.

The QVC parent company, Liberty Interactive Corp., which was listed in the seventh place among the Top 500 for 2012 as identified by Internet Retailer, saw a considerable year end on December 31. According to the statistics included in its recently released report, its revenue had increased overall by 4.2 percent, bringing its total to $10.01 billion. This was an increase over its 2011 total of $9.61 billion.

While QVC saw its overall web performance rise, it was m-commerce that became the true star last year.

The American web sales for the company rose by approximately 10.9 percent, reaching $2.23 billion, when compared to the $2.01 billion from the year before. Its international web sales were not broken down by channel within this report. It did note that its total sales increased by 2.9 percent to $8.51 billion when compared to 2011’s $8.27 billion. Its international sales were up by just shy of that amount, 2.4 percent, reaching $2.93 billion from having been $2.86 billion the year before.

Forty percent of QVC’s American sales for the year were the result of online shoppers, which was a year over year rise of 37.1 percent. In the last quarter, online sales represented 42.7 percent of the total, which was a big jump from the 39.7 percent in the last quarter of 2011.

Where things were truly explosive, though, were in m-commerce in the last quarter. The sales in that channel grew by 109.3 percent in 2012 to reach $175.6 million. In 2011, that figure had been $83.9 million. Last year the mobile sales made up 22.6 percent of all of the online purchases, which was a tremendous leap over the 11.8 percent that they represented in 2011.

Clearly, 2012 was a defining year for m-commerce at QVC, which is bound to continue to push through this channel throughout 2013.