Tag: twitter

Mobile commerce becoming influence by social networking

Mobile commerce is growing more prolific around the world. It is becoming increasingly important for retailers and large brands to begin accommodating the needs of a growing consumer base that is tethered to mobile technology. As businesses begin to focus more on mobile commerce, consumers are also becoming increasingly reliant on the information they can find online, bringing more attention to the concept of social commerce. Social networks and other forms of online engagement are aiding in the continued evolution of mobile commerce by introducing more dynamic aspects to this still emerging sector.

Social commerce begins emerging among consumers

The concept behind social commerce is relatively simple: Consumers are able to find reviews for products on social networks and use this information to make informed purchase decisions. Peer reviews of products and services have long been valuable to consumers. These reviews often determine whether or not a consumer will purchase a particular product or support a particular brand. Bad reviews have, in the past, meant significant loss for a wide range of brands. As these reviews become increasingly mobile-centric, they are beginning to affect the purchasing habits of consumers.

Social media provides new platform for peer reviews

The average consumer relies heavily on social media to stay connected to friends and family as well as attain information of subjects they may be interested in. Consumers tend to share a great deal of information through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and this sharing often includes information concerning the products they purchase. A recent study from Reevoo, a market research firm, shows that a growing number of consumers are accessing product reviews from their mobile devices. The report also shows a major spike in the reviews that consumers are posting from mobile devices. According to the report, reviews from mobile devices have grown by 212% since September 2011.

Social media may become intertwined with mobile commerce

Mobile commerce is becoming a more prominent part of the lives of consumers, which in turn is leading mobile commerce to become a more prominent part of social networking. Mobile commerce itself refers to much more than payments being made from a smartphone or tablet, it also encompasses mobile shopping and banking. Because of the always-connected, always-online nature of mobile commerce, social networking may soon become a major part of the way people use their mobile devices to purchase, review, and search for the products they may be interested in.

Recent research reveals mobile publishers are overtaking mobile advertising networks.

One of the latest reports published by IDC found that social media marketing giants like Facebook, Twitter and Pandora, are now dominating the mobile ad market industry, which was previously controlled by Apple and Google, as well as other large and small mobile ad networks.

The report results show there has been a big shift in mobile advertising.

According to the study, social media marketing claims 52% of the display advertising space. Mobile publishers are no longer taking a backseat to the usual mobile ad frontrunners. Instead, the IDC report shows that they are consistent in their overtaking of the ad market. This is a significant shift in mobile marketing advertising trends.

Mobile advertising networks are anticipated to continue to lose market share to social media marketing.

The report not only highlights that social media marketing publishers are dominating market share, but that is highly likely they will continue to do so. Karsten Weide, IDC’s Vice President of Media & Entertainment, observes that “Networks, especially independent ones, are entering a difficult phase, in which, with an ever smaller share of revenue, they’ll have to compete with publishers, which will only grow in strength.”

The growth rates of the mobile ad market in the U.S. continue to drop annually. In 2012, the market increased by 88%, which is quite the drop from 2011 when its growth rate had increased by 125%. That being said, despite the decline in market growth, mobile advertising has experienced a major increase in terms of spending. Last year, total spending amounted to $4.5 billion which is significantly larger than the $2.4 billion total in 2011.

In addition, the proption of the market that was represented by mobile from among all online advertising was up from 7% in 2011 to 11% in 2012. As for the future, IDC anticipates a 55% to 65% growth rate for the mobile ad market and for the U.S. to spend about $7 billion in mobile ads.

Based on what was revealed in the report, it appears that with social media marketing gaining a lot of strength, mobile ad networks will need to prepare for stiff competition in the mobile ad market.