The company’s online transformation is now a year old and is proving to have been highly worthwhile.
Argos has announced that in the first half of its financial year, its mobile commerce has over doubled and is now representing 16 percent of its total online sales, only one year after having redesigned its entire digital existence.
Approximately 43 percent of all of its sales were made online, illustrating the growing importance of digital.
This figure includes the Check & Reserve service use, which experienced a 124 percent mobile commerce growth over smartphones and tablets, combined. This was led by a new app that was released for both of those devices. Overall, in the multichannel sales experienced by the company are now representing 52 percent of the total sales at Argos. During that period, it represented £899 million in sales.
At the same time, Homebase, an Argos sister company has also seen extensive mobile commerce growth.
Within the half year period, Homebase saw a growth in its own multichannel sales by 28 percent. Both of those companies are owned by Home Retail Group. Overall, that organization saw a rise in sales of 3 percent, reaching £2.6 billion within the 26 weeks that ended on August 31. This includes the figure contributed by mobile commerce.
At Argos, like-for-like sales increased by 2.3 percent, whereas at Homebase, those sales increased by 5.9 percent. That said, at the same time, there was a 70 decrease in pre-tax profits, which dropped to £14.2 million from having been £46.7 million during the same period in 2012. This is explained because last year the organization was able to benefit from a very large credit of £35 million. This year, it faced a cost of £12.6 million instead of a credit. This had to do with the expenses of its “restructuring actions” such as its digital transformation program.
At the same time, if all of those offline, online, and mobile commerce costs are not taken into account, then the benchmark pre-tax profits brought in £27.4 million, which is an increase of 53 percent over the £17.9 million that was seen last year.
Asian markets show promise for mobile commerce
International market research firm yStats has released a new report concerning electronic and mobile commerce in Asia. Asian markets have become very attractive in terms of mobile commerce due to the rising adoption of smartphones and tablets. Consumers are becoming quite reliant on these devices and are showing enthusiasm when it comes to shopping online and making purchases directly from their devices. The report, titled “Asia B2C E-Commerce Report 2013,” aims to shed light on the evolution of commerce throughout Asia.
Internet access helps boost online sales
The report notes that Internet use in countries like Japan, China, and South Korea continues to rise at a rapid rate. As more consumers gain access to the Internet, they begin to shop online more frequently. The expansion of mobile networks is also giving consumers access to the Internet from their smartphones and tablets, exposing them to a wide range of mobile commerce services. Consumers in these countries have been showing favor for mobile shopping over more traditional forms of shopping. The report notes, however, that countries like Laos, Indonesia, Nepal, and India are falling behind when it comes to Internet access. While these countries can be considered valuable markets, the potential of mobile commerce in these countries is somewhat limited.
Japan and China considered prominent markets for mobile commerce
Japan is currently considered one of the most promising markets when it comes to mobile commerce. Tech-savvy consumers often use their mobile devices for just about everything in Japan and it is becoming increasingly common for retailers to focus exclusively on those with mobile devices. China is also showing strong growth on the mobile commerce front as more people gain access to smartphones and tablets. In terms of e-commerce, China is expected to see a 30% increase in online sales by 2016.
Online sales in India account for less than 1% of retail sales
A rise in Internet use is often tied to an increase in online sales. In countries where Internet access can still be considered a luxury, online sales are quite low. In India, for example, online sales account for less than 1% of all retail sales. The country is still considered a promising market for mobile commerce, however, due to the fact that mobile technology is becoming much more common among consumers throughout the country.
