Tag: mobile shopping

Retail industry begins devoting more resources to mobile commerce

The retail industry is beginning to respond to the gargantuan success of the mobile commerce sector, especially in the wake of the results of the 2012 holiday shopping season. During the 2012 holidays, more consumers made use of their mobile devices to shop for and purchase products than they ever had before, giving the retail industry a glimpse of the gains they could see by throwing more support behind mobile commerce. Shop.org and Forrester Research have released a new survey that highlights the view retailers have regarding mobile commerce in 2013.

State of Retailing survey highlights the work of retailers

The survey, called “State of Retailing,” shows that more retailers are beginning to shift their resources to better serve mobile consumers. More than 51% of the retailers surveyed noted that one of their top priorities was making sure that their websites and services were optimized to be used on mobile platforms, such as smart phones and tablets. Another 43% identified tablets and other mobile devices as one of their most important priorities, hoping to increase the traffic and commerce they see through these platforms throughout 2013.

Online traffic spikes in 2012

Retailers are reporting that they are seeing more traffic from online sources. This traffic grew in 2012 and is expected to continue gaining momentum well into 2013. Approximately 27% of the retailers surveyed noted that they have major overhauls of their websites planned in the coming year. These retailers are focusing on making their websites more accommodating for mobile consumers.

Retailers must be wary of pitfalls surrounding mobile commerce

While there are certainly major opportunities for retailers in the realm of mobile commerce, it is important for these companies to take time to identify the potential obstacles they may face in catering to mobile consumers. Embracing mobile commerce is a multi-faceted endeavor, and many retailers will likely begin feeling pressure to facilitate actual payments from mobile devices in their physical stores. Moreover, the more companies focus on mobile commerce, especially in the digital space, the less traffic their physical stores may see in the future.

Small business payment processing company Electronic Commerce International urges small businesses to pay heed to mobile commerce choices and to embrace mobile payments from customers.

Fighting big business

One thing all small businesses have in common is the need to compete with larger businesses. Small business owners not only have to compete, but they also have to stay up on the latest trends and embrace what may be coming next or be left behind. Analyst at Yankee Group believe that small businesses that start using mobile payments are going to stay relevant. In fact, they believe that this should be an obvious move for small business entities.

Point of sale mobile commerce is predicted to be a huge trend for the year 2013. Smartphone users have options from the likes of Visa and PayPal that allow them to use their smartphone instead of cash or a credit card when making purchases in retail locations. Not everyone believes in the next boom being in mobile commerce, however, with Gartner predicting on 2% saturation in the market for mobile payments. However, having the ability to accept the technology can never be a bad thing as long as costs are low.

Proof is in the pudding

There are some doubts as to the projection of mobile payments in 2013 and beyond, but Jim Anderson, CEO of Electronic Commerce International reports that a full 20 percent of holiday sales for 2012 were done via mobile payments. These payments are no longer a novelty, but are becoming more of the normal way that some prefer to shop. Small businesses that accept mobile commerce payments can stay ahead of the curve.

Companies like Visa, MasterCard, and many financial institutions with large customer bases are said to be the leaders in mobile payments in the coming year. PayPal already has a program in place and is expected to handle 10 billion dollars in transactions in the coming year from mobile payments alone. Others, like Apple, have not added the functionality to new devices which may put a dent in the predictions for mobile commerce in general. However, Apple accounts for a small percentage of smartphone sales leaving a broader segment of users with the ability to start using the technology.