Tag: amazon

Microsoft may be gearing up for a mobile commerce push

| September 23, 2014

Microsoft acquires Iain Kennedy, former payments product manager for Amazon

Microsoft may be getting serious about mobile payments. The company has recently hired Iain Kennedy, who was the payments product manager for Amazon for the past six years. Kennedy has extensive experience in the payments field and his work has helped Amazon find more success in the mobile space. Kennedy is now the product manager of Microsoft’s commerce platform, which may signal that the company is planning to take a stronger approach on the matter of mobile commerce.

Microsoft shows modest interest in mobile payments

Microsoft has a relatively modest interest in mobile payments. The company has dabbled in the field of mobile commerce in the past, but found that the market was too young and volatile to continue putting any serious effort into the sector. Now, consumers throughout the world have become enthralled with the idea of mobile payments, and many are demanding new payment solutions from the companies that they favor. This demand was enough to push Apple into the mobile payments space, but Microsoft’s efforts may be delayed to ongoing concerns regarding security and the viability of the market.

Kennedy could help bring Microsoft into the mobile commerce market

Mobile Commerce - MicrosoftKennedy has been involved in the developed of various mobile payment products. One of the products that he and his team at Amazon created was a digital wallet application, which could be used to make payments from a mobile device. This experience could go a long way with Microsoft, as the company has expressed interest in digital wallets in the past. A mobile wallet that is connected to the company’s gaming platforms could be well received by consumers, but exactly how popular it would be is impossible to say for certain.

New projects have yet to be revealed by Microsoft

While Kennedy has become the product manager for Microsoft’s mobile commerce platform, his work with the company may be completely unrelated to mobile payments. There has been no information given about the products that he will be working on, apart from the suggestion that they could change the way people buy and sell products in the real world.

Social commerce on the rise in China

| August 27, 2014

Commerce is becoming more integrated with social media

Social commerce is a relatively new term being used in the Western world. It is not a term that is often used, even with regards to e-commerce, but the phenomenon behind this world is gaining power throughout the world. Social commerce refers to the use of social networks in the context of e-commerce transactions. In China, this has become a powerful force and the country’s social networking sites are beginning to evolve to become more mobile-centric and engage consumers in commerce.

Mobile commerce is changing the way people interact with businesses

Commerce is beginning to change due to the adoption of mobile technology. More consumers are using their smartphones and tablets to make their lives easier and more convenient. These devices are trafficking consumer information and have successfully changed the way people interact with one another and with businesses. As people become more aligned with mobile technology, businesses are taking steps to embrace mobile commerce. A growing number of these businesses are beginning to see that they can find success through leveraging social media to promote mobile shopping.

Tmall shows off the capabilities of its social commerce platform

Social CommerceTmall, an online retailer similar to Amazon, is one recent example of a company embracing social commerce. The retailer has integrated a social media platform that is being used as a consumer-power review system. The platform allows users to rate products and companies based on various factors, such as the accuracy of a product description and the customer service being offered by a company. Products with high rating receive more promotion from Tmall through the social platform.

There is more spending power among active social media users in China than in the US

One of the reasons social commerce has become so powerful in China has to do with who actually uses social media platforms. In the U.S., the largest demographic of active Facebook users are those that have recently graduated college, whom tend to have very little spending power. In China, however, the majority of those that are active on social media sites have higher incomes and more spending power, making them an ideal demographic for social commerce.