According to a recent study performed in the Indian market, there are hot products sold over mobile.
eBay India has released the results of their summertime m-commerce survey and has discovered that the channel will be exploding with shoppers over the hottest months of the year, and they know exactly what they want to buy.
The scorching heat appears to be adding some warmth to the smartphone shopping marketplace.
Within the m-commerce survey, eBay discovered that more than fifty percent of the population intends to make purchases over their smartphones or tablets, typically from the comfort of their own homes. They are choosing this alternative over having to leave their homes to deal with the sweltering heat this summer in order to head to the local mall.
Fifty nine percent of the m-commerce participants said they wanted to shop over smartphones and tablets.
The reason cited for this preference toward staying in and shopping over m-commerce instead of going in person to the mall was that they would be able to stay out of the heat and avoid the overcrowding in the market areas.
The survey also identified the top products that are expected to be purchased over the m-commerce channel. The research respondents said that they would be most likely to buy cotton apparel, shorts, t-shirts, caps, and sunglasses. Among the colors that are most likely to be purchased are green, blue, white, cream, and black.
According to the eBay India country manager, Muralikrishnan B., the adoption of m-commerce “has increased significantly in the country due to multiple factors such as enhanced 3G penetration and availability of affordable smartphones.” He added that this activity has become one of the preferred option for many Indians, particularly among those in the smaller cities.
This has become increasingly obvious as a recent m-commerce study that the company also performed has shown that 49 percent of the users of the online marketplace are from non-metropolitan cities. He added that because eBay is one of the pioneers into this channel within the country, they have considered it to be truly promising to watch the shift toward mobile in India.
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.
