Chinese mobile commerce shows promising growth
Mobile commerce has been making impressive progress throughout the world, but the scene has been seeing the most activity in China. The country has become a hub for mobile technology and innovation and many of the consumers living there were among the first to embrace mobile commerce. Chinese consumers have been attracted to the convenient nature of mobile payments and many have praised the services that have been opened up to them over the past two years.
Sector expected to reach $41 billion by 2015
A new report from iResearch, a market research firm, shows that mobile commerce has grown exponentially throughout China. According to the report, mobile commerce was worth $7.8 billion by the end of 2012. The report also expects this growth to continue, reaching $41 billion by 2015. While the sector has grown as a whole, one company has emerged as the dominating force in the mobile commerce field.
Taobao leads in mobile payments
Taobao, one of the largest mobile-based shopping organizations in the country, has established a formidable force when it coes to mobile payments. The company is part of the Alibaba Group, which is the most influencial online retailer in the country, eclipsing competitors Amazon and eBay. Tabao is the Alibaba Group’s consumer-to-consumer shopping platform, operating in much the same way that eBay operates in other parts of the world. The company represents more than 75% of the online retail market in China.
Retailers find success through engaging mobile consumers
Taobao, along with other retailers, has put strong focus on mobile commerce in order to appeal more to consumers tethered to smartphones and tablets. This focus has served these retailers well as consumers have shown a penchant for shopping for products even while at work or traveling. Mobile commerce allows these consumers to maintain a constant connection with retailers, allowing them to make purchases at any time they choose.
Mobile games continue to prove financial attractive for game industry
Mobile games have been attracting a great deal of attention recently due to their lucrative nature. The opportunity to amass fortune has proven strong enough to attract hordes of developers to the mobile sector. While the game industry as a whole may be well attuned to the financial prospects that can be found in mobile games, most consumers are not aware of how much money these games actually produce. iDreamSky, a publisher of mobile games, may serve as an adequate example.
Publisher finds success in bringing western games to China
iDreamSky was founded four years ago just as mobile games began finding traction with consumers. The publisher started out small, but quickly grew to account for more than 200 employees as its growth was powered by some of the world’s most popular mobile games, such as Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja and Imangi’s Temple Run. The publisher was able to bring these games from western markets and into China, where they found a great deal of success among Chinese consumers that had been very interested in mobile games.
Publisher grosses up to $7 million per month
The publisher’s focus on bringing western mobile games to China has served it well. China is a very competitive market when it comes to gaming and the mobile space. The country is home to thousands of independent Android app stores that are not associated with Google. There are also varying interests among the diverse consumer groups found throughout the country. This makes it difficult to make games appealing to a particular demographic, especially those that are played on mobile devices. iDreamSky has found a way to overcome this issue, however, and is estimated to gross as much as $7 million every month simply by bringing western games to China.
Western games may be more exotic for Chinese consumers
The publisher’s co-founder and executive vice president, Jeff Lyndon, claims that bringing western games to China has provided the market with something unique. Local developers tend to target a very specific demographic, a common practice that can often lead to games that are unappealing to those outside of that target audience. These games are typically associated with elements that are common throughout Chinese entertainment. Western mobile games, however, are not specifically designed with the Chinese market in mind, thus offer some sense of exoticism to gamers.
