Tag: mobile technology

Report shows consumers want mobile commerce platforms from their banks

A new report from the Future Foundation, a global research firm, suggests that consumers in the United Kingdom may be more willing to participate in mobile commerce if payment platforms came directly from their banks rather than from third party groups. Mobile commerce has been gaining prominence around the world, but many consumers remain wary of paying for products using their smartphones and tablets. These consumers often cite security concerns and worry that their financial information may be put at risk through their participation in mobile commerce.

Banks are growing more interested in mobile payments

Many banks and financial services firms have shown a great deal of interest in mobile commerce. These organizations typically embrace mobile payments and allow for consumers to use their accounts to make such transactions. Few of these banks offer their own mobile payment platforms, however, opting instead to support those being offered by third parties, such as Google and Isis. In the United Kingdom, this may be driving consumers away from mobile commerce.

Consumers may have more confidence in mobile commerce if banks get involved

The report shows that 57% of consumers would have more trust in mobile commerce applications coming from their own banks. The report also shows that approximately half of the country uses a mobile device to purchase products online. Consumers claim that they would spend more money in mobile commerce if they could trust their applications. Therefore, if banks begin supporting their own mobile commerce platforms, transactions made through mobile devices may see aggressive growth.

Strict regulations foster secure environment for mobile payments

One of the reasons that consumers would trust mobile commerce applications from their banks has to do with the regulations that exist to manage these banks. Financial services firms are saddled with a great deal of responsibility and must adhere to strict standards that are generally imposed by government organizations. These regulations put a major emphasis on security, which could foster confidence among consumers when it comes to mobile commerce.

The company already owns a number of different online shopping brands and will now be adding this as well.

Shopzilla, Inc., an online and mobile commerce company, has just acquired Zappli, to add to its long list of brands, including Bizrate, TaDa, Beso, Retrevo, among others.

The newly acquired early stage startup has developed a new shopping app for iPhones.

It is a mobile commerce application that is called myShopanion. However, on top of that, it has also included a unique checkout experience that it has called “instaBuy”. That latter feature had been launched last fall. In concept, it can be compared to the one click checkout that is used by Amazon. It also provides a way for smartphone shoppers to provide all of their contact, shipping, and billing information all at once.

This mobile commerce experience proves to be quite convenient for its users.

By making those details accessible by the customer with a single tap, it not only makes a mobile commerce checkout quite convenient for them, but it also avoids patent infringement with Amazon by requiring two clicks, instead of one.

The technology was initially showcased by Zappli in the myShopanion mobile commerce app, which gave consumers the chance to buy from dozens of different big retailers, including everyone from Best Buy to Buy.com, and from Barnes & Noble to Kohl’s, Macy’s, Walmart, and many more.

Bill Glass, the CEO of Shopzilla, explained that his company first saw Zappli in terms of its potential as a strategic partner. However, discussions finally grew to the point that it wasn’t simply a matter about working together, but about much more than that. He said that “Through those meetings, we were very impressed by the significant expertise and cutting-edge technology in the mobile commerce space, which they developed over the last three and half years,” and added that “and those initial partnership conversations led to the acquisition.”

Neither of the companies are revealing the terms of this mobile commerce deal. However, both the team and the investors are saying that it is a well received acquisition which will have the entire Zappli team joining that of Shopzilla.