Tag: mobile shopping

Mobile payments may be in for some turbulence in Canada

| November 14, 2014

New legislation could allow merchants to charge a fee on all mobile transactions

New legislation in Canada could cause some turbulence in the mobile commerce space. Some of the country’s lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow Canada’s merchants to institute a surcharge on customers paying for products from a mobile device. Having to pay additional fees may make mobile commerce somewhat less popular among consumers, but merchants have been having to deal with these fees for some time.

Payment services are proving to be a costly investment for merchants

Organizations that offer mobile payment services, such as Visa and MasterCard, also charge a fee for the merchants that use these services. Generally, merchants pay approximately 2.5% per transaction made through a payment platform. Many merchants have avoided embracing mobile payments because of these fees, while others have seen little issue with the practice. In the case of Visa and MasterCard, the two companies have begun lowering the fees on transactions in order to make mobile payment services more popular among smaller merchants.

Surcharges on mobile transactions could help merchants become more financially stable

Canada Mobile PaymentsPer the new legislation, merchants may be able to offset the financial impact of high interchange fees by imposing fees of their own. Many merchants see mobile commerce as a costly investment and becoming involved in this space has proven to be quite expensive. By imposing fees on mobile transactions, retailers may be able to see some financial gain from their mobile initiatives. Additional fees may not be popular among consumers, however, who may look for merchants that do not charge for mobile transactions rather than support those that do.

Merchants may be unlikely to charge for mobile transactions until they can no longer handle other costs

While many merchants have expressed concerns over the financial aspects of mobile commerce, relatively few of them are likely to begin charging for mobile transactions. When a high profile platform, such as Apple Pay, arrives in Canada, however, merchants may change their minds regarding the matter. Such a platform introduces more complexity to the commerce space and has the potential to raise costs for merchants, which will need to be offset for the sake of financial survivability.

Nearly half of all online sales in Europe could come from mobile commerce by 2018

| November 13, 2014

New report highlights the rapid growth of the mobile shopping space in the coming years

Forrester Research has published a new report concerning online sales throughout Europe. A growing number of consumers in European countries are beginning to favor shopping online, purchasing products and having them delivered directly to their homes. The report predicts that online shopping will continue to gain momentum throughout Europe in the coming years. Mobile commerce is expected to play a major role in the digital space as well, especially as more people become comfortable with using mobile-centric services offered by retailers and other businesses.

49% of all digital sales throughout Europe may be made from a mobile device by 2018

According to the report, mobile commerce is expected to account for 49% of all online sales in Europe by 2018. Mobile spending is expected to reach approximately $25 billion by the time, nearly representing the majority of all digital spending made in Europe. Tablets are likely to account for a significant portion of mobile spending, as these devices are quickly becoming a favored mobile commerce platform among consumers.

Adoption of mobile commerce is accelerating rapidly

Mobile Commerce - EuropeThe adoption of mobile commerce among businesses and consumers have been growing rapidly over the past two years. Retailers have begun seeing people using their mobile devices while shopping more regularly, with many of these people using their smartphones and tablets to research products before making a purchase. In order to engage the mobile audience, many retailers have begun adopting mobile-centric services, particularly those that facilitate mobile payments.

Retailers could find significant success by supporting the mobile audience

As people become more comfortable with mobile shopping, they are beginning to do so more regularly. Retailers that are moving to support this could see significant success in the coming years, while those that resist mobile commerce may find it difficult to connect with consumers. The mobile space is expected to be particularly active during the holiday season, during which many people may seek to exploit  the convenience that mobile commerce has to offer them.