Tag: mobile shopping

Mobile payments are on the rise

The Mercator Advisory Group has released a new report concerning consumer payments and banking. The report highlights the growing popularity of mobile payments among the U.S. population, showing that mobile commerce is becoming very common among young adults and certain ethnic groups. Mobile payments are often considered a subject for the tech-savvy and given the fact that younger generations are growing up with a strong connection to smartphones and tablets, as well as other forms of technology, these people could be significantly more comfortable with the concept of mobile commerce than older adults.

Young adults show comfort with mobile commerce

The report shows that young adults show the strongest interest in mobile payments in the U.S. Approximately 75% of young adults are reported to have their own smartphones or tablets, compared to the 55% of adult households that own such devices. The report shows that young adults are very likely to use their mobile devices while shopping, using the technology available to them to find better deals or to find out more information on products they are interested in. Mobile payments are becoming a major interest with these consumers, many of whom believe that mobile commerce is significantly more convenient than traditional forms of commerce.

Mobile commerce platforms prove inclusive for wide range of consumers

Smartphone ownership is also growing among certain ethnic groups. Those of Asian, Latin, and African descent outnumber others when it comes to smartphone ownership. Moreover, these consumers have also expressed a great deal of interest and comfort with the concept of mobile payments. For many immigrants to the U.S., mobile payments are considered easier as many mobile commerce platforms can easily calculate currency conversions while also removing the need for physical currencies.

Security remains a major barrier for mobile payments

While mobile payments are gaining popularity, all consumers have expressed concerns regarding the security of their financial information. Mobile commerce is not only a realm for consumers, as it has proven quite attractive for hackers. The threat of having financial information stolen and exploited has led many people to be weary of mobile payments.

Among those who took part in a survey, 31 percent said they used their smartphones and tablets to shop.

According to the results of a survey that was conducted among consumers in Singapore, there has been a considerable rise in the number that are using their smartphones for mobile commerce purposes over the last year.

The most recent step of the study was conducted from March through May to view the popularity of this channel.

The study that was conducted by the research firm, Nielsen, was held from March all the way through May. It determined that when compared to the same period in the previous year, the popularity of mobile commerce had risen to 31 percent after having been 24 percent at the same time in 2012. This placed the Singapore city state well ahead of other countries within that same region.

The mobile commerce in Singapore was followed by Hong Kong in its popularity level.

In Hong Kong, the area where mobile commerce was second most popular, had 28 percent of the survey participants taking part in this form of shopping. In Malaysia, it was 27 percent of the survey participants, whereas, in Australia, there were 27 percent of the respondents who said that they shop over their smartphones.

The Nielsen research included the participation of more than 18,700 people who reside in nine different markets in the Asia Pacific region. In Singapore, there were approximately 1,300 people who had been asked whether or not their handset had been used for mobile commerce purposes within the previous month.

It should still be noted that while Singapore was the region that had the highest growth rate in terms of the use of mobile commerce, it was not in the lead for overall usage. In that category, the city state was considered to be in third place. It was well behind Japan, the first place holder, where nearly 90 percent of respondents had used their smartphones for shopping online. It was also behind South Korea, where an estimated two out of every three consumers was using their handsets for researching and buying products.