Tag: ebay m-commerce

eBay continues to work to establish lead in mobile commerce

| October 29, 2013

Retailer aims to bolster presence in mobile commerce

Prominent online retailer eBay is poised to expand its presence in the mobile space, according to the company’s new chief product officer, RJ Pittman. The newly hired Pittman recently left a position with Apple in order to pursue new opportunities. Pittman garnered acclaim in his field for developing Apple’s popular storefront and may be a powerful addition to eBay’s staff. The retailer has been working to bolster its presence in the mobile space in order to hold more sway over mobile commerce.

The mobile space has become a priority for eBay

Mobile commerce has become a major focus for eBay due to its popularity with consumers. Many people favor mobile commerce over more traditional forms of commerce because it is more convenient for them to shop online rather than in person. Retailers like eBay offer comprehensive mobile infrastructures that make it easy for consumers to shop on their mobile devices, thereby making it more likely for them to purchase products online. While eBay currently boasts of a significant presence in the mobile field, the retailer is prepared to increase this presence significantly in the near future.

eBay mobile commercePittman to focus on improving services

Pittman is currently working to improve eBay’s payment process in order to make it friendlier to mobile users. The retailer already has the backing of PayPal, which is an eBay subsidiary, and Pittman believes that the services offered by PayPal could be put to better use by its parent company. PayPal’s recent acquisition of mobile commerce pioneer Braintree may have some impact on Pittman’s plans as the acquisition provides PayPal, as well as eBay, access to powerful mobile commerce technology.

eBay aims to bring mobile commerce to physical stores

While eBay expects that mobile commerce will have an impact on online shopping, the retailer intends to leverage the power of the mobile space to make shopping in physical stores more engaging. Consumers may be growing more reliant on their mobile devices, but that does not mean they are abandoning physical stores. Ensuring that traditional retailers can accommodate the needs of mobile consumers by embracing mobile commerce has become a priority for eBay.

eBay acquires mobile commerce firm Braintree

| October 1, 2013

eBay continues to make aggressive moves in the mobile commerce field

Retail giant already boasts of a formidable presence in the mobile sector, but that does not mean that the company has grown complacent. Through its PayPal subsidiary, eBay has been working to engage consumers throughout the world on the field of mobile commerce. With mobile devices becoming more common, people around the world are beginning to engage in new forms of commerce. Mobile commerce has become one of the most lucrative fields in the mobile space and has attracted the interest of retail and technology companies of all kinds.

Braintree expects to process $12 billion in payments this year

This week, eBay announced its acquisition of Braintree, a mobile commerce specialist, for $800 million. The company plans to combine Braintree with the mobile payments division of PayPal in order to bolster its growing mobile commerce infrastructure. Braintree estimates that it will process more than $12 billion in mobile payments this year and it lists Rovio, OpenTable, TaskRabbit, and Heroku among its clients.

Venmo application now available to eBay

Through the acquisition, eBay has gained access to Braintree’s Venmo application, which facilitates mobile payments from smartphones and tablets. The application is yet another platform through which eBay and PayPal can engage mobile consumers. PayPal is a strong advocate of mobile commerce platforms that are not wholly reliant on NFC technology. The company has some security concerns when it comes to NFC and is also critical of the exclusive nature of the technology. The low availability of NFC-enabled mobile devices makes it difficult for many consumers to participate in mobile commerce in any meaningful way.

Braintree expected to continue current operations alongside PayPal

Braintree is expected to continue many of its current operations. Per the acquisition, the company will exist as a separate entity within PayPal and will provide services that will fall under the Braintree name. The company is also engaged in a partnership with Facebook concerning streamlining mobile commerce through the Auto Fill with Facebook initiative.