Tag: mcommerce

Mobile commerce accounts for 32% of all retail sales in the UK

Mobile shopping has seen strong growth in the United Kingdom

IMRG Capgemini, a prominent retail industry association, has released a report highlighting the growing popularity of mobile shopping in the United Kingdom. Many consumers in the UK have begun to use their smartphones and tablets to shop online for products that they are interested in. These people also purchase these products directly from their mobile devices, taking advantage of discounts and other deals being offered by retailers. As mobile shopping becomes more prominent throughout the country, many UK retailers are evolving to accommodate a mobile-centric audience more effectively.

Consumers are showing favor for shopping for and purchasing products from their mobile devices

According to the report, mobile purchases now account for 32% of all online sales in the United Kingdom. Consumers have become quite comfortable with the concept of mobile commerce and have shown favor for the convenience that it represents. The report shows that the majority of mobile purchases have to do with apparel and fashion, but many people also use their mobile devices to shop for and purchase electronics and other sorts of products.

Tablets may become the dominant mobile shopping platform

UK Mobile Commerce - Retail SalesAn estimated 70% of the United Kingdom’s populace currently owns a smartphone or tablet. As mobile commerce becomes more popular, many consumers are reporting that tablets offer a more enjoyable shopping experience. Approximately 12 million tablet devices were sold in the United Kingdom in 2013 and many retailers are beginning to fashion their mobile commerce initiatives to cater to tablet devices specifically. Tablets may soon become the most favored mobile shopping platform, but smartphones currently boast of that honor.

Consumers remain concerned over the security of mobile commerce

While consumers have shown their eagerness to participate in mobile commerce, they have also expressed serious concerns. The majority of these concerns have to do with the security of their financial information. Mobile commerce, as a whole, is still quite new. This can mean that retailers and other groups participating in the sector have not yet come to fully understand the security issues that exist in this field.

Social media marketing campaign by Sephora looks like Instagram

The beauty retailer has created its own Beauty Board initiative to enhance its loyalty program.

Sephora has just added the latest part of its mobile marketing strategy by introducing a social media marketing element that could make it quite the powerful means of boosting the effectiveness of its loyalty program.

This is being accomplished by way of a new feature to the company’s app that is comparable to Instagram.

The initiative has been labeled Beauty Board. It is a social media marketing element within the iPhone app for the retailer. This allows the mobile application to leverage mobile marketing through photo sharing in order to be able to allow loyalty program members to connect with each other. This initiative is meant to be an expansion of the My Beauty Bag effort that was rolled out by Sephora last year.

This latest social media marketing effort is not coming as much of a surprise due to the retailer’s mcommerce focus.

As the company has always held a place at the forefront of mcommerce, this mobile marketing news is not entirely surprising, despite the fact that it is fresh and unique. The retailer continually adds to its user experience, and adding a social component is a feature that could prove to be quite appealing to many shoppers.Social Media Marketing - Sephora Campaign

The purpose is to help to enrich a shopper’s overall experience with the Sephora brand. It helps to provide customers with a new and interesting organic way in which they can interact more fully with the brand and its products. The goal in enhancing this interaction is to boost brand loyalty. Should the effort be successful, it is very likely that other brands will not far behind in introducing similar strategies.

The social media marketing features from the Beauty Board are available only to members of the loyalty program called the Beauty Insider. It can be found under the iPhone app’s “Inspire Me” section of the menu. It gives users the option of either uploading a picture of a specific look using the brand’s makeup, or taking a photo for their own personal viewing later on.