Tag: mobile shopping

E-commerce may find innovation in Boston

| January 27, 2013

E-commerce BostonE-commerce advances may be born in Boston this year

E-commerce and mobile commerce entered the new year with a great deal of momentum, much of which was garnered during the 2012 holidays, when consumers took to their mobile devices to make purchases online and through their smart phones and tablets. A new year means more possibilities for e-commerce, which may see significant advances coming out of Boston, Massachusetts. There are numerous companies based in Boston that are developing very innovative approaches to e-commerce that could have a significant impact on the future of mobile commerce.

Companies see promising results in 2012

Many of the companies showing such extreme interest in e-commerce experienced the full potential of this channel during the 2012 holiday season. Boston-based retailer RueLaLa claims that more than 40% of its sales came from mobile devices connecting to its website. Backed by such promising results, many of these companies are looking to establish a stronger presence in the e-commerce world, and some have taken the route of developing new payment systems and technologies to accomplish this task.

Large organizations are moving to develop better e-commerce services

Large companies in Boston have begun making acquisitions of their smaller counterparts in an effort to promote growth and produce better online selling systems. IBM’s Smarter Commerce, an initiative designed to provide market insight in a variety of industries, is currently developing new software that is expected to transform the way companies sell products online. Technology giant Oracle is also making several acquisitions in Boston, including the company’s purchase of ATG and Endeca. These companies are involved in e-commerce technology.

Companies expected to see better results this year than they did in 2012

E-commerce seems to be growing at a rapid place among Boston retailers, with several companies putting more serious focus on how to engage consumers online. This trend is expected to continue gaining momentum until it reaches a peak during the 2013 holidays. Last year, retailers caught a first, extremely promising glimpse of the prospects of mobile commerce. This year, they are likely to be looking to expand on the results they saw during the 2012 holidays.

Macy’s continues engaging mobile consumers

| January 24, 2013

Macy’s finds success through focus on mobile space

Retail giant Macy’s has been working to engage mobile consumers in a more dynamic way recently. The retailer has seen its customers evolve over the years, with more people becoming apt to use their mobile devices to shop and make purchases. At times, these consumers have been difficult to appeal to because of the lack of mobile services the retailer employed in the past. Over the past two years, however, Macy’s has established a strong grip on mobile consumers and continues to look for ways to engage these people with the services they have come to expect from the retailer.

QR codes and application overhaul provide better service to consumers

In the months leading up to the 2012 holiday shopping season, Macy’s began to use QR codes to direct consumers to digital content that could be found on the retailer’s mobile website. The company also launched a major overhaul of its mobile application, updating the platform to be more accommodating of mobile commerce. Macy’s saw 44% of the applications existing users download the updated version of the application before Black Friday last year. The overhaul spurred a 19% growth in the application’s user base.

Mobile commerce proves popularmacy's mobile consumers

In the retailer’s 39,000-square-foot store in Herald Square, New York City, store associates make use of mobile devices to provide information to customers concerning inventory and particular, often difficult to find, items. These devices are also used to process mobile payments. Macy’s recently began accepting mobile payments made through the use of Google Wallet and the retailer is part of a pilot project for Isis, one of the main competitors of Google Wallet, in Utah and Texas.

Macy’s finds balance in mobile focus

Macy’s has positioned itself to take advantage of the growing interest consumers are showing in mobile commerce. The retailer has managed to make itself stand out from amongst the competition by finding ways to engage mobile consumers and, more importantly, direct them to physical stores throughout the country. A focus on mobile consumers has, in the past, backfired for many retailers, leading many consumers to stop coming to physical stores. Macy’s seems to have found the appropriate balance to avoid this pitfall.