Tag: us mobile commerce

Shopping over smartphones and tablets is moving ahead in a striking way within that country.

Emarketer has now released data that has shown that the m-commerce marketplace in China, representing shopping occurring over smartphones, tablets, and other types of mobile devices, will be reaching $334 billion, this year.

That figure represents a record breaking 49.7 percent of the total expenditure over online channels.

This prediction suggests that over 10 percent of the total retail sales in China will be occurring over m-commerce by next year. This trend in China is an important one, and it is an estimated 450 percent greater than what is going on in the United States. In the U.S., it is believed that sales over mobile commerce will rise by 32.2 percent. The retail sales over smartphones and tablets will represent 22 percent of the total online shopping. That said, from a broader perspective, they will make up only a tiny 1.6 percent of all retail sales in 2015.

This is microscopic next to China’s m-commerce portion of all sales, which is 7.9 percent.

It is clear that the Chinese retail market is seeing notably faster and greater mobile commerce growth than the trend throughout the world. That said, its own marketplace continues its direction toward the digital sphere. Online retailers are working hard to ensure that they are continually prepared to evolve as consumers expect, and they are working hard to help to bring that same ease of shopping into areas of the country that are harder to reach.

Two giants – JD.com and Alibaba – are making major investments into the rural communities of China, where there is the most room for online shopping growth within the country. In fact, the current rate of mobile commerce use is greater in the rural areas than it is in the large urban centers. This makes sense, considering that people in the major cities have a much greater availability and selection of products than those who are away from the ocean of brick and mortar shops.

That said, m-commerce needs to be implemented strategically. Even Alibaba has seen less than one tenth of its online purchases shipped to rural areas despite the massive potential there.

Survey shows that more people are using their mobile devices when shopping

Retailers may need to become more mobile-centric, as consumers begin relying more heavily on their smartphones when they shop. SessionM, a mobile loyalty company, recently released the results of a survey of 12,000 randomly selected smartphone users in the United States, questioning them about their mobile shopping behavior. According to the survey, 85% of respondents said that they were quite involved in mobile commerce, with many suggesting that their mobile commerce activity increased over what it had been over a year ago.

Mobile shopping activity is on the rise among smartphone users

The survey shows that approximately 15% of respondents said that their mobile shopping had increased significantly. Of those interested in mobile commerce, security and poor user experiences were cited as major barriers that are prohibiting the further growth of e-commerce and mobile shopping. Notably, more than 90% of consumers noted that they made a purchase with their mobile device in the past 90 days. The vast majority of these consumers, approximately 73%, said that they made a mobile purchase in a physical store.

Many consumers use their devices to compare prices and research products they are interested in

When it comes to using a smartphone in a physical store, 54% of consumers used their devices to compare prices on products that they were interested in. Another 48% used their smartphones to look up product information, with 42% using their devices to check product reviews online. Notably, many people used their smartphones to look for special deals, such as coupons, and any loyalty programs that they could take advantage of.

Retailers have new opportunities to engage mobile consumers

Because of the large number of consumers that have begun to rely on their smartphones to shop, retailers have new opportunities waiting for them in terms of marketing. Loyalty programs are, perhaps, the most promising opportunities facing retailers. These programs provide consumers with rewards for their loyalty, and shoppers have shown particular interest in these programs as they can lead to money saving opportunities and access to special deals.