Tag: mobile shopping

Tablet commerce becoming a breakout phenomenon

| December 14, 2012

 

Tablet CommerceTablet commerce finding traction during the holidays

Mobile shopping is nothing new, dating back to 1997 with Wireless Application Protocol sites, those that facilitate access to information over a mobile wireless network. Throughout the years, mobile shopping has evolved to become something that is wildly popular among tech-savvy consumers. This is becoming especially true for tablet users, who are beginning to represent a sizeable share of the mobile consumer base. Deloitte, a UK-based consulting firm, as well as several other market research firms, expects that tablet commerce will  see a great deal of attention during this year’s holiday season.

Consumers becoming more interested in tablet commerce

Tablet commerce is a form of mobile commerce that refers specifically to the use of tablet devices, such as the iPad. Tablets are becoming more popular among consumers because of their wider range of capabilities, which trump most conventional smart phones. This is especially true in the publishing space, where magazines, newspapers, and other publications are seeing a great deal of growth through the offering of digital editions designed specifically for tablets.

Forecasts predict tablets to account for major financial activity during Christmas season

Deloitte predicts that more than $400 million in sales will be made in the United Kingdom directly through smart phones during the Christmas season. Tablet commerce is expected to perform much better, with Deloitte forecasting more than $550 million in sales coming directly from tablets. Adobe’s Digital Index 2012 Online Shopping Forecast predicts that tablets will account for nearly 8% of all sales made in the United Kingdom during the Christmas season this year, up from the 3% share they held in the same period of 2011.

UK retailers beginning to take mobile commerce more seriously

British retailers are showing more serious interest in mobile shopping for tablets as well. Retailers are beginning to develop services that are specifically designed for tablet devices, rather than smart phones. Applications for tablets are becoming much more common and could help influence more shopping activity among mobile consumers that are interested in using their mobile devices to find and pay for products than participate in traditional forms of commerce and shopping.

Augmented reality technology set to become more dynamic

| December 12, 2012

 

Augmented Reality Static augmented reality may be a thing of the past

Augmented reality has managed to make its way into the mainstream, thanks largely to the support of tech-savvy consumers around the world. Typically, augmented reality comes as a feature in mobile applications. These applications often rely heavily on the sensors of mobile devices as well as a static dataset that paints digital content over the real world. Augmented reality itself is a very dynamic technology, thus the static nature of mobile applications may be hampering the technology’s capabilities.

Professors work to make innovative breakthroughs in technology

Professors Matthew Turk and Tobias Hollerer from the University of California – Santa Barbara, have been working to make augmented reality mobile applications much more dynamic. The professors envision a future for augmented reality where the technology is more stable, practical, and capable of higher levels of engagement with consumers. Turk and Hollerer have been research ways to incorporate real-time computer vision into augmented reality applications, which would allow these applications to become much more dynamic in their ability to overlay digital content onto the real world.

Augmented reality showing a stronger presence in mobile commerce

Augmented reality has become a very popular tool in entertainment and marketing. Even leashed by the static nature of most mobile applications, the technology has been able to provide consumers with a wide range of interactivity. Augmented reality has begun breaking away from its traditional fields recently, and entering that of mobile commerce. While mobile commerce often refers to the practice of making purchases with a mobile device, the term also encompasses mobile shopping. Augmented reality has been growing in popularity amongst mobile shoppers because of its capabilities of providing these consumers with context sensitive information on particular products.

Grants help fund ambitious research

Turk and Hollerer have recently been awarded two grants; one from the Office of Naval Research, and another from the National Science Foundation. These grants are helping fund the professors’ work in their so called “anywhere” augmented reality application. The concept strongly focuses on making augmented reality possible no matter where a person may be.