Tag: mobile commerce news

Mobile commerce to have a dramatic impact on Europe during the holiday season

| November 11, 2013

The holidays add more momentum to mobile commerce

Consumers in Europe may be getting a head start on their holiday shopping. Many people have been flooding retail sites on their mobile devices in order to get some of their holiday shopping done early. While retailers have not yet begun to provide the special offers that have become common for the holidays, many of these companies are offering some special discounts to those that participate in mobile commerce. A new report from Adobe predicts that mobile commerce will have a major impact on this year’s holiday season.

Report highlights the growth of mobile sales and online traffic

According to the Adobe Digital Index 2013 Online Shopping Forecast, approximately 12.4% of all online sales in eleven European countries are expected to come from smartphones and tablets. This is a 68% increase over what had been reported in the previous year. Smartphones are expected to be the platform through which the majority of mobile sales are made, with tablets following closely behind. The report suggests that December 9, 2013, will be the highest grossing online shopping day, with the following week being the highest grossing week for retailers in Europe.

Mobile Commerce - Europe Holiday ShoppingConsumers favor convenience of mobile commerce

Mobile commerce is cited as one of the caused behind this growth in online sales and online retail traffic. Consumers have become enthralled with the concept of mobile commerce because of the convenience that it represents. Mobile shopping allows consumers to avoid visiting physical stores, thereby avoiding crowds and expediting the shopping experience. Mobile commerce has proven so convenient that many consumers are opting to get their shopping done before the holidays even begin. These people are willing to forgo the special deals being offered by retailers during the holiday season in order to get their shopping done ahead of time.

Retailers continue to bolster their mobile platforms

Mobile commerce is expected to have a prominent impact on the retail industries in Austria, France, Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, as well as other countries. The 2012 holiday season showcased the power that mobile commerce has over consumers, and retailers have spent much of 2013 preparing their mobile platforms in order to take advantage of the continued growth of mobile commerce among consumers.

Zapp aims to bring strong competition to the mobile commerce field

| November 7, 2013

Mobile commerce competition continues to heat up

It is not uncommon for companies to compete with one another, especially in the field of mobile commerce. It is relatively uncommon, however, for start-ups to target large corporations as their major competition. Mobile commerce firm Zapp, which is based in the United Kingdom, has taken aim at both Visa and MasterCard, seeking to dethrone these two companies in the mobile commerce arena. Zapp plans to boast of more than 20 million users by the end of 2017, an ambitious goal that if achieved would make the firm one of the most successful entities in the mobile commerce field.

Zapp aims for 20 million users by 2017

Zapp was launched earlier this year and aims to make mobile payments in stores, online, and through applications more convenient and accessible to consumers in the United Kingdom. The firm intends to incorporate its mobile payments system into banking application from some of the country’s largest financial firms. Zapp is reportedly close to closing deals with three prominent banks in the UK, which will give the company significant momentum to launch its mobile commerce services through these institutions at some point next year.

Mobile Commerce CompetitionBanks could incorporate Zapp services

Zapp is designed to bypass card networks. Using Zapp, consumers will have a direct connection to their bank accounts, which can be used to make mobile payments for goods and services. Zapp claims that this will make mobile commerce more convenient for consumers as they will never have to deal with physical cards or other forms of physical currency.

Retailers show interest in Zapp

The mobile commerce firm is not only focused on banks, of course, as it also expects several prominent retailers in the UK to make use of its services. Zapp is proving attractive to retailers through the promise of higher checkout completions and the low fees associated with the services it offers. Whether Zapp will be able to compete with Visa and MasterCard among retailers and banks has yet to be seen, as both Visa and MasterCard have a significant head start over the mobile commerce start-up.