Tag: mobile shopping

Tencent shows support for mobile commerce retailer Maimaibao

| March 24, 2014

Retailer finds success by engaging with mobile consumers in non-metropolitan areas

Maimaibao, a Chinese online retail firm, has announced that it has received funding from several large organizations within China, including Tencent. The amount of funding the firm has received has not yet been revealed, but speculation suggests that it is somewhere around the $100 million mark. Maimmaibao has attracted attention for not being a typical online retailer. Instead of targeting consumers in large cities, it focuses on non-metropolitan areas where Internet access is not necessarily reliable. Notably, the firm has seen a great deal of mobile activity in these parts of China.

Feature phones can also participate in mobile shopping, even without access to a fast Internet network

The retailer manages to engage consumers where Internet access is lacking through its mobile website. This website is particularly accommodating to feature phones that only have access to 2G wireless networks. Many Chinese consumers that have these types of mobile devices live and work in places where they do not have access to a PC, making their phones a valuable shopping tool. Maimaibao has managed to find significant success in making itself open to these consumers, and this has attracted the attention of Tencent.

Tencent continues to fight for dominance in the mobile commerce space

Mobile Commerce SupportTencent is one of China’s largest Internet organizations and it has begun to focus quite heavily on mobile commerce. Tencent is working to establish a dominant presence in the mobile commerce space through its WeChat application and various other ventures. The company is currently clashing with Alibaba, which has also begun working to engage mobile consumers more aggressively in recent months. Tencent may be able to achieve its goals of mobile dominance by aligning itself with Maimaibao.

Maimaibao aims to develop new smartphone for its primary demographic in China

Maimaibao will use the funding it has received to develop a new smartphone under its Big Q brand name. This mobile device is meant to provide the company’s chief demographic — those living in non-metropolitan areas of China — with a mobile device that has more capabilities than typical feature phones.

Survey sheds light on consumer behavior concerning mobile payments

| March 14, 2014

Survey shows that consumers are showing strong interest in mobile commerce but remain concerned regarding security

Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, has released the results of a new survey that focuses on mobile commerce. Throughout the world, mobile shopping and payments have become quite popular among consumers. These people tend to be quite reliant on their mobile devices, using smartphones and tablets quite frequently in their daily life. The survey from Bain & Co. accounts for 25,000 respondents across five countries and aims to shed light on how their view mobile commerce as it exists today.

Consumers show they are somewhat unwilling to make mobile purchases in a physical store

According to the survey, more than half of respondents noted that they were aware of mobile payments. This awareness is highest in Western Europe, where 70% of respondents noted that they knew what mobile payments were and how to make a payment from a smartphone or tablet. While awareness is high, only a quarter of respondents to the survey said that they were willing to make mobile payments in stores. Online payments were considered more attractive and many respondents suggested that paying online from a mobile device was more secure than using a device in a physical store.

Security concerns prevent many people from participating in mobile commerce

Mobile Commerce Survey - Mobile PaymentsSecurity is one of the most significant challenges that face the widespread adoption of mobile commerce today. Many consumers are worried that by participating in mobile commerce their financial information will be exposed to exploitation. While consumers are concerned for the security of their financial information, the survey shows that as much as 27% of respondents were willing to make a mobile payment in-store.

High profile crimes keep people wary of mobile commerce  and shopping in general

Mobile commerce is becoming more accessible, but ongoing concerns regarding security are likely to inhibit widespread adoption for some time. Some of the security concerns that consumers have are somewhat misguided. These concerns are, however, augmented by recent spates of high profile data theft and hacking. Such events tend to spark serious doubt on mobile initiatives.