Strong results in mobile commerce and elsewhere still fail to meet expectations
eBay has become one of the major supporters of mobile commerce in the retail world. The online retail giant has identified the mobile space as one of its most lucrative and promising markets. Over last year’s holiday season, eBay experienced strong growth in mobile sales due to the various mobile commerce initiatives it had launched to attract consumers. The momentum the company generated last year carried into the first quarter of 2013, where sales reached impressive heights, but ultimately failed to reach eBay’s lofty goals.
Earnings fall slightly short though mobile commerce grows more popular
Earnings and revenue grew throughout the first quarter as many consumers continued to swarm eBay’s primary e-commerce site and make use of its mobile commerce application. Sales were strong throughout the quarter, with eBay noting a spike in mobile transactions being processed by PayPal. PayPal has become an integral part of eBay’s mobile commerce efforts. The payment processor is now being accepted in several physical stores, allowing consumers to use their PayPal accounts to purchase goods from their mobile device.
PayPal shows strong growth
While earnings may have been slightly off estimates, eBay has high hopes for the rest of the year and beyond. The company expects its revenue to reach $23.5 billion by 2015, a 67% increase over the revenue it had generated in 2012. eBay’s European business performed more modestly than its U.S. counterpart, but still managed to show strong results. The company notes that PayPal’s revenue grew 18% by the end of the first quarter.
eBay expected to continue focus on mobile space
Mobile commerce is expected to continue playing a significant role in eBay’s future. The company anticipates that it will see its highest mobile sales come during the holiday season at the end of the year. Last year’s holiday season proved that mobile commerce has a strong allure to a broad spectrum of consumers and eBay is expected to continue refining its approach to this field.
Amazon looks to make mobile payments more secure
Amazon has been a leading online retailer for several years now, but that does not mean that it is not constantly on the lookout to break new ground. The retailer has recently begun growing more aggressive on the matter of mobile payments, noting that a large portion of consumers shop with their smartphones and tablets. Amazon is eager to embrace these consumers by providing them with comprehensive mobile commerce services and has plans to introduce a new system that will help make mobile payments more secure.
Amazon awarded mobile payments patent
Amazon has been awarded a new patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for what it calls an “Anonymous mobile payments” system. According to the patent, the system is designed to allow consumers to pay for products using their mobile device, but these consumers will not have to reveal any personal information to those they are purchasing from. Amazon believes that this will provide consumers with a degree of security is largely absent from the current mobile commerce climate.
Security continues to be a major issue in the mobile commerce field
Security is a major concern that many people have when it comes to mobile payments. Protecting a consumers financial information has become a top priority for companies engaging in the mobile commerce field, and several companies have successfully developed mobile commerce platforms that provide a high level of protection. Amazon, however, claims that anonymity offers the best level of peer-to-peer protection, claiming that its system is ideally suited for a digital economy where consumers often sell goods to one another.
Anonymity proves important to consumers online
Anonymity has become a very popular trend on the Internet. Keeping personal information private has been an issue for many consumers over the past few years. Facebook, as well as other social networks, received a great deal of criticism due to their lackluster privacy features, allowing users’ personal information to be accessed easily. In mobile payments, privacy is a much more significant concern and Amazon is poised to address the issue as aggressively as possible.
