Appstore could add momentum behind growth of mobile commerce
Early last month, Amazon announced plans to expand its Android Appstore to some 200 countries around the world. China, however, was not on the list of countries that Amazon had plans to expand into. These plans seemed to have changed in just under a month, as Amazon has announced that it has opened its Appstore in China, offering a bevy of applications to Kindle users and those with Android devices. Amazon’s apparent change of heart may be due to the promising mobile commerce opportunities that exist in China.
China proves to be favorable market for Amazon
China is home to a bustling e-commerce sector. According to Internet Retailer, a market research firm, Amazon’s e-commerce sales in China came in at $8.8 billion in 2012, approximately 5% of the company’s total online sales. Many of these sales came from mobile devices. Mobile commerce has been gaining a great deal of support from Chinese consumers, many of whom have shown strong favor for more convenient ways to pay for products that they are interested in.
Appstore expected to boost brand recognition and loyalty
By opening up its Appstore in China, Amazon is likely to find more traction among the mobile crowd. Consumers will have more access to the company’s products, particularly those designed for Kindle devices. The Appstore is also likely to drive brand recognition and consumer engagement, further solidifying Amazon as the dominating force in online retail in China.
Mobile commerce continues to gain traction around the world
China is just one of Amazon’s favored markets. The company has been showing a growing interest in mobile commerce as consumers around the world become more mobile. This can be seen in Europe and the U.S., as well as China. These markets have served to propel Amazon’s interest in the mobile commerce field, encouraging the company to engage a new generation of mobile-centric business that has begun a strong emergence around the world.
Alipay puts a new twist on mobile payments
Alipay, a leading third party online payment solution provider in China, has launched a new payment system in the Beijing Subway. The system is designed to accommodate those interested in mobile payments, allowing them to use their smartphones or tablets to pay for public transit tickets. Such a payment system is nothing new, especially in the realm of public transportation, but the way that Alipay’s system facilitates mobile payments certainly breaks away from the established norm.
System uses sound waves to facilitate payments
Alipay’s mobile payments system uses sound waves in order to facilitate mobile transactions. The system relies on the Alipaw wallet, a digital wallet application that was released in January of this year. The application emits white noise, which is registered by the payment system, which then initiates a transaction. This white noise mechanic was initially meant to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions, but Beijing Subway saw significant promise in the applications capabilities.
Alipay Wallet application heavily influenced by growing demand for mobile commerce services
The new system has been launched in two stations in the Beijing Subway. More systems are expected to be installed throughout the subway network in the near future. Alipay notes that the growing importance of mobile payments in the lives of consumers was a strong inspiration for the development of this new payment system. The Alipay Wallet application is available to both Android and iOS consumers, but the latter group is noted as a major contributor to the development of the application’s sound-based mechanics.
Application meant to make mobile commerce more accommodating to iOS consumers
NFC technology has long been a cornerstone of mobile payments, but this technology is not available for iOS devices due to Apple’s disapproval of the technology. As such, iOS consumers have had to rely on alternatives in order to participate in mobile commerce. The sound-based features of the Alipay Wallet are meant to make it possible for iOS consumers to make mobile payments easily without having to worry about having access to NFC technology.
