Tag: paypal mobile payments

Mobile commerce heating up in the Asia-Pacific market

| February 6, 2013

Mobile commerce in asia pacificMobile commerce becomes a major focus of Asian retailers

Mobile commerce is gaining steam in the Asian Pacific market. The proliferation of smart phones, tablets, and wireless Internet is allowing consumers to move away from their PCs and traditional stores to participate in a new trend that has been emerging in industries all over the world. Euromonitor International, a leading market research and analysis firm, suggests that the growing adoption of mobile technology in the Asia-Pacific region is spurring retailers to delve more seriously into the field of mobile commerce.

Retailers adopting mobile commerce more quickly than those in the West

Retailers in the Asia-Pacific market have been provoked to aggressive action on the matter and have been adopting mobile commerce much more rapidly than those in other markets. Many of these retailers have begun developing mobile applications that allow consumers to shop more effectively from their smart phones and tablets. Euromonitor International expects that the aggressive adoption of mobile commerce among Asian retailers will only continue to pick up momentum in the coming months.

PayPal Singapore anticipates major growth in coming years

This analysis corresponds with that coming from PayPal Asia-Pacific, which suggests that consumers are becoming more apt to use their mobile devices to pay for products. Moreover, these consumers are more likely to spend large sums of money than those that do not participate in mobile commerce. According to PayPal, mobile payments in Singapore came in at $34 million in 2010 and more than $259 million in 2011. PayPal anticipates mobile commerce in Singapore alone will reach $2.4 billion by the end of 2015.

Groupon model proves popular with retailers

Mobile commerce has opened new possibilities for consumers throughout Asia. One of the business models that has become very popular with retailers embracing mobile commerce is allowing consumers to purchase products online and claim their purchase in person or have it otherwise mailed to them. This model was pioneered by Groupon Singapore, which is now being adopted by numerous retailers throughout the market due to its convenience.

OLO receives significant backing from PayPal

| February 2, 2013

OLO mobile payments PayPalOLO brings new mobile commerce service to restaurants

OLO, a relatively new mobile commerce engine designed for restaurants, has announced that it has received a sizeable investment from PayPal, one of the foremost advocates of mobile commerce. OLO has been experiencing rapid growth in recent months. The company, which has been receiving a great deal of attention from numerous investors, has been aggressively hiring and scaling up its operations to establish a firm presence in the mobile commerce market this year. The investment from PayPal is expected to help in this endeavor.

OLO service provides restaurants with consumer friendly services

The OLO service allows restaurants to accept payments and orders from consumers using a simple mobile application. These orders can be placed before a customer even arrives at the restaurant, removing the wait time that some popular restaurants are regularly associated with. Hundred of restaurants make use of the OLO engine and many of these establishments have reported receiving more than 50% of their digital orders through mobile devices.

PayPal may have a role to play in the future of OLO

OLO is designed to be flexible, accommodating the needs of a particular restaurant. To this end, the service allows restaurants to accept forms of payment they are most comfortable with. OLO itself is capable of facilitating payments from all major credit card providers, as well as stored-value cards and mobile wallet platforms. PayPal’s investment into the service is likely to ensure that the company has a place in OLO’s future operations.

PayPal continues looking for ambitious and innovative mobile commerce solutions

PayPal is one of the companies that has been heavily investing in mobile commerce, as well as one of the few looking for an alternative to NFC technology. NFC has become a very popular engine for mobile commerce, but PayPal has concerns regarding the safety and viability of the technology. As such, the company has been looking elsewhere to satisfy its interest in mobile commerce, and services like OLO are among those that have attracted the interest of PayPal in recent months.