Funding will help company expand interests in mobile commerce
Getonic, an Israeli startup that develops solutions for small businesses that are interested in selling products through social networks, has announced the completion of its latest round of funding. The company has received $1.3 million in total funding, which it plans to use to expand business globally. Because of the growing interest surrounding mobile marketing and mobile commerce, Getonic expects to see very promising results in 2013 as more businesses seek to engage consumers through social media.g
Social media plays a big role in the evolution of commerce
There are a wide variety of startups that are trying to help companies engage mobile consumers. Many of these companies adopt a very specific focus on mobile commerce services, enabling businesses to facilitate mobile payments in an efficient and comprehensive manner. There are few platforms that take social media into account, despite how important sites like Facebook and Twitter are to consumers today. Getonic has not had a singular focus on the mobile space, but the funding it has received will help it expand its mobile business more aggressively.
Getonic adopts stronger stance on mobile
Getonic offers companies a way to monetize their business through social channels. The company’s social shops, as they are called, act as small virtual stores that sell individual products to consumers on social networking sites. As Getonic begins to focus more on the mobile space, these social stores will become more accommodating of mobile commerce, allowing consumers to make purchases using nothing more than their smart phones or tablets.
Company looks to expand beyond Facebook
Getonic is able to process payments through its use of PayPal. PayPal itself offers mobile commerce services to businesses, allowing them to accept transactions from a mobile device. Since 2010, Getonic has had a strong focus on Facebook, but the company is beginning to expand its focus to other social networks, such as Twitter. Whether such networks will be conducive of mobile commerce has yet to be seen.
Mobile commerce beginning to blend with social media
Mobile commerce has been booming in several markets around the world recently. Companies are beginning to see the major benefits of engaging mobile consumers and providing them with new ways to purchase products. South Korea has seen significant economic gain through the adoption of mobile commerce recently, especially as businesses throughout the country begin to blur the line between mobile commerce and social media. yStats, a market research and analysis firm, has released a new report concerning the growing trend of social commerce.
Report highlights mobile sales throughout 2012
According to the report, more than three quarters of the South Korean population made use of the Internet in 2012. The vast majority of these people went online to purchase products, as well as engage in social media. The report shows that in 2012, for the first time in the country’s history, more people accessed the Internet through their mobile devices than through traditional computers. Mobile sales in South Korea for the year reached over $10 billion, showing that mobile commerce has established a very strong presence within the country. yStats suggests that social commerce is becoming a very powerful trend in the South Korean market.
Social networks beginning to embrace mobile commerce
Mobile consumers are constantly engaged in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. While these sites have typically shied away from any sort of commerce, they have been growing more interested in the prospects of mobile commerce in recent years. Facebook, for instance, has been experimenting with ways to allow users to purchase products through e-commerce platforms that can be accessed by a mobile device. Because consumers have a penchant for sharing their interests and connecting with businesses through social media, such services could be very lucrative for companies that have a strong interest in mobile commerce.
Security continues to be a significant issue for consumers
Social commerce is still in its infancy. There are many potential challenges that must be overcome before social networks can fully embrace mobile commerce on any level. One of the most daunting challenges that social media faces is security. Mobile commerce, as a whole, has been plagued by security issues that have caused many consumers to avoid using their mobile devices to purchase products. If social networks can find a way to secure the financial information of their users, mobile commerce may become much more common in the future.
