Tencent and Alibaba are beginning to compete more aggressively for the favor of mobile consumers throughout China
China has become a battlefield when it comes to mobile commerce competition. Two of the country’s largest companies, Tencent and Alibaba, have a longstanding rivalry with one another when it comes to engaging consumers. Both companies are beginning to focus on the mobile space more heavily as well. While Tencent has held a strong presence in the mobile space for some time, Alibaba is beginning to threaten that position by promoting and supporting mobile commerce throughout China.
Firm predicts the future of the mobile payments market in China
Internet consultancy firm iResearch has released a forecast concerning the mobile commerce market in China. According to the forecast, the market is expected to reach nearly $300 billion by 2017, with more than half of online payments being made from a smartphone or other mobile device. Mobile payments will likely continue growing in popularity as more people gain access to the mobile Internet. The popularity of mobile payments has encouraged companies like Tencent and Alibaba to embrace the mobile commerce sector more aggressively.
Tencent powers ahead with its WeChat application and new services
Tencent recently launched a new service for merchants through its WeChat application. The service allows merchants to accept mobile payments through the application, thereby enabling them to become more engaging for mobile consumers. Alibaba has its own mobile payments platform called Alipay, which has managed to accommodate more online transactions than both eBay and Amazon combined. These applications are poised to compete aggressively with one another, but Chinese consumers have yet to show their favor for one over the other.
Tencent may have what it takes to attract the support of China’s merchants
Tencent is expected to have an edge with merchants that are looking to get involved in the mobile space. WeChat is one of the most popular applications in the world and is quite well known in China. The popularity of this application among consumers may be enough to convince merchants that it is the best platform for their mobile commerce interests.
China continues to show favor for mobile payments and similar services
Mobile payment services in China have seen strong growth in 2013. A new report from iResearch, an online tracking and data analysis firm, shows that independent mobile commerce platforms have found a great deal of support from Chinese consumers. People throughout the country are turning to these platforms in order to shop online and pay for products they are interested with their mobile device rather than with physical currency. As device ownership continues to grow, mobile commerce is expected to become much more prevalent throughout the country.
707% growth in mobile payments throughout 2013
According to the report from iResearch, some $200 billion in mobile payments was made throughout 2013. This represents a 707% year-over-year increase and the momentum that mobile commerce platforms have already been able to generate is expected to carry well into the future. Consumers claim to favor mobile commerce services because of their convenience and the fact that they allow people to manage their finances from their mobile devices rather than being forced to do so at home from their computers.
Report shows that NFC technology is losing ground
The report from iResearch suggests that mobile shopping is no longer the main attractor of most mobile commerce platforms. According to the report, online money transfers and banking features are quickly becoming the main reason people use these platforms. As these services see more attention from consumers, their use of NFC technology is beginning to diminish. The report shows that NFC-based mobile commerce services in China dropped from 2.6% in 2012 to just 0.8% in 2013. NFC has never been popular in China and mobile commerce services have managed to find success without making use of the technology.
China is becoming increasingly mobile-centric
China has established itself as a very active and attractive mobile market. Not only are mobile payments flourishing throughout the country, but mobile games are also generating a great deal of profit and economic activity. Advertisers in China are also beginning to focus on mobile consumers more aggressively, launching interactive mobile marketing campaigns that are designed to be more dynamic than traditional marketing initiatives.
