Consumers showing aggressive interest in mobile commerce
Mobile commerce has been growing more common throughout the world. Consumers have already shown that they are very interested in the benefits that can be found through mobile technology, with more people using their smartphones and tablets for their daily activities than ever before in the past. As consumers become more involved in the mobile space, their perspective and interests in the realm of commerce is beginning to change. The changing interests of consumers has helped propel mobile commerce to become one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
PayPal documents rise of mobile wallets
PayPal is one of several companies that have involved themselves in mobile commerce. The company is better positioned than most to address the changing needs that consumers have in the mobile space as it has long been involved in the realm of e-commerce. PayPal notes that consumers are beginning to adjust more aggressively to the idea of mobile commerce, especially in the U.S. where approximately 86% of consumers are eager to abandon traditional wallets for the electronic variety, according to PayPal.
Europe shows strong growth in mobile commerce
PayPal has released a new study highlighting the changing interests of consumers and their willingness to participate in mobile commerce. The study shows that consumers are now willing to make use of mobile commerce platforms rather than rely entirely on more conventional forms of commerce. While U.S. consumers have shown that they are willing to embrace electronic platforms, mobile commerce is showing the strongest growth in Europe. PayPal notes that in Germany alone, some 90% of consumers are ready to make use of mobile wallets.
Mobile wallets are capturing the interests of consumers
Mobile wallets are simple, yet effective mobile commerce platforms. These wallets exist as applications that store a consumer’s financial information. Mobile wallets have seen some criticism in the past due to lackluster security features, but concerns regarding security have not yet been enough to keep consumers away from mobile commerce.
Mobile payments sector seeing a decline in wallet applications
Mobile commerce is quickly becoming a major trend among consumers around the world. Many people consider mobile payments to be a simpler, more convenient way to pay for goods and services, partly due to the fact that mobile technology is so prolific. Much of mobile commerce has been powered through the use of mobile wallets, lightweight mobile applications meant to store and use financial information. While mobile commerce has been seeing strong growth over the past two years, these mobile wallets have not been growing more popular among consumers.
Wallets had been popular, but focus on NFC drives consumers away
In the advent of mobile payments, mobile wallets had been considered a necessary platform for mobile commerce as they provided much of the needed infrastructure for this form of commerce to work. Many of these applications are based on NFC technology, which allows for digital information to be transmitted over short distances. The problem, however, is that NFC technology is not universally supported throughout the mobile space. Indeed, the technology has been losing support from many of the companies and organizations that have emerged as strong players in the field of mobile payments, such as PayPal.
Consumers, as well as device makers, are favoring options free from NFC
Mobile wallets are beginning to give way to other applications that take a more accommodating approach to mobile payments. These applications seek to enable a wider range of consumers to participate in mobile commerce, which had, in the past, been largely restricted to those with NFC-enabled devices. These devices are still rare despite the efforts of companies invested in mobile commerce to see their expansion. A growing number of device manufacturers are beginning to abandon NFC technology, favoring mobile commerce platforms that offer some alternative.
Wallets may still be valid in mobile payments if an alternative to NFC is found
As device makers, like Apple, begin to move away from NFC technology, mobile wallets may be due for some change. These applications still receive significant support from Google and Isis, but the NFC-capabilities of these platforms make them unaccommodating to the growing interests of consumers. If organizations focused on mobile commerce want to retain the foothold they have established in this still emerging sector, they may soon have to consider finding an alternative to NFC technology.
