Retailers seeing a marked rise in mobile commerce demand
E-commerce has grown to become a formidable force in India. The country’s retail sector has been working to appeal to consumers in a more dynamic way, now that many of these consumers have access to smartphones and tablets. These devices are beginning to change the way consumers shop online, making India’s traditional e-commerce initiatives somewhat outdated an unintuitive. As more consumers become mobile, retailers are beginning to consider whether the time is right to embrace mobile commerce more seriously.
Mobile technology expanding rapidly in India
The proliferation of smartphones and tablets is causing retailers to examine how to better engage consumers that are tethered to mobile devices. The best answer may be to adopt better mobile commerce services and ensure that e-commerce platforms are more accommodating to mobile devices. Currently, much the retailer industry’s online presence is built around those that shop online using their PCs. This means that e-commerce platforms are, generally, not optimized to be used for mobile devices, making it difficult for mobile consumers to shop and purchase products online.
Mobile commerce provides strong examples in other markets
Mobile commerce has already seen strong growth in other countries, such as the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In these countries, mobile commerce has helped several retailers find an impressive amount of success. According to a recent report from BI Intelligence, a leading market research firm, approximately 29% of mobile users in the U.S. have made a purchase through their smartphone or tablet. Many of these purchases were reported in the retail sector.
Retailers beginning to see a need to adapt to mobile consumers
Myntra, a leading seller of fashion and lifestyle products in India, notes that it has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people interested in participating in mobile commerce. This is partly due to the mass deployment of new mobile devices throughout the country. Consumers may be interested in mobile commerce due to its relatively new nature and the novelty that provides, but Myntra notes that demand is beginning to grow to the point where mobile commerce can no longer be ignored.
eBay overcoming Amazon in the field of mobile commerce in BRIC countires
eBay has beaten Amazon in the race to expand e-commerce in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. Last week, eBay announced that it expects to see no less than 12% of its sales come from these countries by 2015. In order to achieve this goal, the retailer has been investing more heavily in e-commerce in these countries, with a strong focus on mobile commerce in particular. eBay anticipates that the global e-commerce market will be worth more than $300 billion by 2015, and the company is eager to beat out its only major competitor, Amazon, in order to establish dominance in the changing world of commerce.
eBay invests in Snapdeal
eBay has announced that it has completed Series C investment in Snapdeal, a leading online retailer based in India. Snapdeal boasts of more than 20 million users who regularly purchase products on a platform that is somewhat similar to eBay. Snapdeal has found some success in the field of mobile commerce, tapping into the growing population of India that has access to smartphones and tablets. The success the company has seen in the mobile commerce field has attracted the attention of eBay, which has invested $50 million into Snapdeal.
Snapdeal expects to see a strong sales year
By investing into Snapdeal, eBay is moving further into the Indian market. The company already has its own division devoted to the country, eBay India, but this only boasts of 5 million users, much less than those that make use of Snapdeal. Moreover, more consumers are beginning to favor mobile commerce over traditional forms of commerce. Snapdeal is more accommodating of purchases being made bring a mobile device than eBay India is, which leads more consumers to the former rather than the latter. With 20 million users and a strong focus on mobile commerce, Snapdeal is expected to generate more than $400 million in sales this year.
Amazon finds some progress in Brazil and elsewhere
Amazon has been working to establish a stronger presence in BRIC countries but has been met with several challenges along the way. While none of these challenges are expected to topple Amazon’s efforts, eBay was able to overcome the challenges it faced more quickly than its competitor. Nonetheless, Amazon is rapidly establishing a foothold in Brazil in much the same way that eBay is establishing its presence in India.
