Tag: mobile payments

Branding Brand report highlights growth of mobile commerce

Branding Brand, a leading mobile commerce platform for retailers, has released the results of its latest Mobile Commerce Index report. The report highlights the performance of mobile commerce in the retail sector, highlighting the traffic that mobile devices represent therein. Mobile commerce is particularly strong in the retail industry and has been well received among a wide range of consumers. The mobile sector has yet to show signs of slowing down when it comes to expansion within the retail industry.

E-commerce sites continue to see high mobile traffic

The report focuses primarily on e-commerce sites that are optimized for mobile use rather than sites that are not optimized for mobile use. In the past, retailers that have been accommodating of mobile commerce have seen a significant growth in online sales. The report shows that this continues to be the case to some degree, especially as smartphones and tablets continue to grow in popularity among consumers.

Smartphones emerging as leading mobile commerce platforms

According to the report, smartphone visits to mobile commerce sites rose by 60% in April of this year over what they had been in April 2012. Tablet visits for the same time period rose by 50%. Smortphones represented the largest growth in mobile sales this year, seeing an increase of 85% over what they had been in 2012. Smartphone revenue also grew by 44%, showing that consumers seem to have a great deal of favor for smartphones when it comes to mobile commerce.

Mobile traffic continues to grow online

Branding Brand notes that approximately 30% of all e-commerce traffic now comes from mobile devices. This is part of a continuing trend that shows more consumers are becoming enamored with mobile commerce as time goes by. This trend is associated with the growing availability of mobile devices and the increasing affluence of the general population. Moreover, those with smartphones and tablets are more likely to spend money online than those without such devices.

This trend is allowing smaller firms to accept credit card transactions in a more affordable way.

Owners of small businesses across the United States are discovering the opportunity that their tablets and smartphones are offering in terms of mobile payments that allow them to accept transactions from customer credit cards without renting expensive machines.

This has become a powerful new tool for smaller sized businesses to be able to process transactions.

The trend is not only common among small business owners who are setting up the option at the point of sale in an actual storefront, but others as well. There are many small firms that don’t have an actual shop, but that sell at trade shows, farmers markets, or that simply travel to meet their customers in various locations. These people are greatly benefiting from being able to turn their smartphones and tablets into a credit card scanner that they can use for mobile payments.

Mobile payments allow these entrepreneurs to be able to accept transactions no matter where they are.

As there are a growing number of mobile payments options available, these business owners have a choice and can make the selection that is best for them. Among the strongest players at the moment are PayPal Here, GoPayment, Square, and Intuit.

Often, they involve the use of a small device (sometimes called a dongle), which is typically provided for free and that plugs into the audio jack of the smartphone or tablet. This allows credit cards to be swiped so that the mobile payments transaction can be processed. Though the appeal for these services did start with individuals selling at farmers markets and other similar locations, it is starting to work its way into traditional point of sale locations on an increasing basis.

This is because it allows the small business owner to be able to accept credit cards without having to deal with a bank, and it provides a number of options that are more affordable and convenient than those that are otherwise available. Mobile payments also often come with a number of different types of loyalty tools, and the fees for accepting the transactions are generally lower than the usual form of credit card purchase.