Tag: m-commerce

The results of a recent Interactive Advertising Bureau study showed shoppers research before making the trip.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has now released the results of a recent study which revealed that about half of all adult consumers are using mobile commerce to look into products before they head to brick and mortar shops.

This insight could be exceptionally important to retailers that are hoping to draw shoppers into their stores.

Many people do their product research ahead of time using mobile commerce tools, but still want to be able to see the product in real life before they actually make their final purchase. The practice is known as “showrooming” and it is quite popular particularly among shoppers in younger age brackets. This practice can occur when a customer has already decided that they want to buy a product after having read about it on a mobile device but they’d like to see the physical item before actually purchasing it, or it could happen the other way around.

Showrooming also involves customers seeing an item in-store and using mobile commerce to find a better price.

Interestingly, although many retailers have felt threatened by this process as they believe people will simply come to the shop to check out the item but then buy online at a place that sells it for a lower price, the research found that this was not necessarily true. The IAB study indicated that shoppers will typically end up buying the product from within a physical store location after having looked it up online.

The important thing to note is that while they may have looked at a product in store and used m-commerce to find better prices, the store in which the showrooming has happened is not necessarily the one where the purchase has been made. Sometimes customers will visit the most convenient location to look at the item but will then travel to another shop if they find a better price for it there, through the use of their mobile devices.

Millennials are especially in the habit of using this mobile commerce technique. Over two thirds of shoppers in that generation use showrooming. Still, they are more likely to head to another physical store to buy the product than to stay in the current one if they can find a better deal. Shoppers in older generations will often stay within the same store unless the deal offered elsewhere is especially enticing.

China is leading the way in mobile commerce growth

China is becoming more aggressive when it comes to mobile commerce. Until very recently, the country has relied heavily on cash rather than other forms of commerce. Many shoppers throughout the country had preferred paying in cash because they considered it more secure and convenient. As smartphone penetration grows, however, more consumers are beginning to use their mobile devices to shop for and purchase products. Large companies are beginning to take advantage of this, offering consumers new services that allow them to participate in mobile commerce.

WeChat is finding success by encouraging consumers to use its mobile payments service

WeChat is one of the companies looking to bring consumers into the mobile commerce field. WeChat is China’s largest messaging application and social network and the company launched an ambitious campaign last year to highlight its new payments service. During Chinese New Year last year, some 400 million people sent hongbao, traditional gifts containing money sent during the holiday, to their friends and families. This year, however, more than 1 billion digital hongbao were sent through WeChat’s service.

Consumers are finding it easier to shop for and purchase products with their mobile devices

Consumers are becoming more comfortable with the concept of mobile commerce, using services like Alipay to purchase products that they are interested in. The companies and retailers behind these services are quickly expanding, looking to find every greater degrees of success in the mobile commerce market. Some of these companies, such as Alibaba, are also investing in foreign mobile commerce firms, hoping to establish a foothold in new markets and encourage the further growth of the mobile commerce field.

Young consumers are more likely to participate in mobile commerce

While many consumers still prefer to pay for products with cash, young consumers are embracing mobile commerce quite aggressively. These consumers have been exposed to technology from a young age, making them more comfortable with digital services. Older consumers are also embracing mobile commerce, but at a slower pace. As new services become available, more consumers are expected to become involved in mobile shopping.