Tag: mobile commerce

The growing importance of tablet commerce on evenings and weekends

Tablet Commerce TrendsTablet commerce spikes after work and on weekends, making it a part of the family living room.

Recent studies have clearly shown that evening hours – particularly after 6pm – bring a tremendous increase in the use of tablet computers (based on the number of keyword searches that are performed on Google).

Though many people are inclined to feel that this is an indicator that tablet use is much less important than that over desktops and laptops, as individuals use those larger devices while they’re at work and for a much longer period of time, what it is actually indicating is that tablets are more important than they used to be and there is a specific time in which those users can be targeted.

Tablets have become a part of the family living room and the experience for relaxing in the evening.

While televisions and desktop computers remain important, it is now important to note that 86 percent of American mobile device users are watching shows either on the devices themselves, or are watching them on television while they have the gadgets in their hands.

Despite the fact that the number of options for tablet computers remains relatively small, it is becoming an important part of the content consumption on evenings and weekends. As such, it opens the doors for the integration of several platforms for a fully connected experience.

According to a recent Nielsen study about the role being played by tablets and smartphones for commerce both online and in-store, 79 percent of mobile device owners said that they had used their device at some point in the shopping process.

Among tablet owners, 42 percent said that they had bought something using that device, while 29 percent of smartphone owners claimed that they had done the same. Smartphones are generally the top in-store choice for comparison shopping and research, simply due to their portability, but tablets are more likely to use their devices from home, and to both read and write product reviews.

Tablet commerce is becoming such an important part of online shopping that retailers and marketers are beginning to consider it a unique channel, instead of simply lumping it into the mobile commerce category with smartphones and other wireless portable devices.

MasterCard eyes QR codes for secure mobile commerce

 

MasterCard teams with ING Bank to focus on QR codes

MasterCard has beguMobile Commerce qr codesn testing new ways to allow consumers to make online transactions securely. The financial institution envisions a platform that will protect consumers from the risks they face in the online world while also providing them convenient service. The company’s PayPass platform has become somewhat popular in mobile commerce, but MasterCard is looking to expand the capabilities of this platform and has set its sights on QR Codes. MasterCard has teamed with ING Group, a Dutch bank, to launch a trial project for its new initiative in the Netherlands.

QR codes becoming much more than marketing tool

QR codes are widely used in mobile marketing, but have seen some use in the realm of mobile commerce. The codes first rose to popularity in Japan in the 1990’s, where advertisers would use them to provide engaging content to consumers. The codes have filled this role all over the world since then, but have begun expanding beyond their advertising roots. QR codes have begun seeing use as parts of virtual stores, wherein consumers can scan the codes to purchase particular items from a mobile website that is associated with a retail store.

Netherlands trial will put QR codes to use in mobile commerce

MasterCard believes that QR codes would be a secure platform for mobile transactions. The company, along with ING Group, are keen to see how the codes can function in mobile shopping in the Netherlands. The PayPass platform is MasterCard’s flagship mobile commerce platform and will participate in the trial. Consumers with be able to use the PayPass to make purchases of goods through a number of participating retail stores. Consumers will also get a chance to use QR codes, which can be scanned to facilitate a mobile transaction through a secure website.

Viability of barcodes to be put to the test through 2013

The trial will run through the first quarter of 2013. MasterCard and ING Group will collect data concerning the trial to determine the viability of QR codes in mobile commerce. If consumers find the codes to be efficient, they may soon become much more than a simple marketing tool. This will be especially true if MasterCard can see that the codes are able to facilitate a more secure form of mobile commerce.