By John Rizzi, SVP Product Marketing and Strategy, Tickets.com
The explosion of Smartphone usage and everything mobile is well-documented. Trying to capture a piece of the m-commerce juggernaut can be intimidating and is filled with choices and buzzwords: native app or mobile browser, iOS, Android, Blackberry, and don’t forget all the carriers and their ad-ons. With all the hype, it’s easy to think you’re missing the boat and you have to do something – NOW! While it’s true that mobile commerce is exploding; mobile purchases accounted for only 1% of ecommerce sales in 20101. And, even though the growth in m-commerce is exponential, estimates are it will still only make up 7% of e-commerce sales by 20161.
So - it’s not too late.
The first decision you need to make regarding your mobile strategy is between a site optimized for a mobile browser or an application written specifically for the Smartphone; such as the iPhone, Android or Blackberry. There are three reasons that make this decision an easy one:
1. Broader reach – mobile browser will work on any phone that has internet – period. No worrying about picking the “right” mobile platform.
2. App saturation – with hundreds of thousands of mobile applications available, there is growing evidence that consumers are becoming overwhelmed by the number of apps on their phones.
3. Faster and cheaper – it’s much easier and less expensive to build and maintain a mobile optimized site than build native apps for one or all of the major mobile platforms
So if you haven’t “gone mobile” yet, I strongly encourage you to consider the mobile browser approach.
1Forrester Research http://www.internetretailer.com/trends/sales/
Showing posts with label mcommerce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mcommerce. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Mobile commerce stats round up
Graham Charlton
eConsultancy
Mobile purchasing habits in the US (Compete)
Mobile purchasing habits in the US (ATG)
Mobile payments (Juniper)
Mobile commerce market size (ABI Research)
Mobile internet usage (Essential Research)
Smartphone usage (comScore)
eConsultancy
Mobile purchasing habits in the US (Compete)
- 37% of US Smartphone users have made a (non-mobile) purchase on their handsets in the last six months.
- 19% have purchased music on their phones, 14% have bought books, DVDs or games, while 12% have purchased movie tickets.
- The amount that mobile users are willing to spend varies between handsets, with 32% of Android and 29% of iPhone users willing to spend $100 or more from their handsets, compared with 14% of Blackberry users.
Mobile purchasing habits in the US (ATG)
- 27% of all consumers used their mobiles to browse and research products at least four times over a 12 month period. For the 18-34 age group, this figure is 41%.
- 20% of all consumers and 32% 0F 18-34 year olds are researching purchases via mobile at least monthly.
- 13% of all consumers and 23% of the 18-34 age group make purchases via their mobile four times a year.
Mobile payments (Juniper)
- The market for mobile payments market is expected to quadruple by 2014, reaching $630bn in value, which equates to 5% of total e-commerce sales.
- The mobile payments market is worth $170bn so far this year.
Mobile commerce market size (ABI Research)
- The research firm predicts that in 2015, $119bn worth of goods and services will be purchased via a mobile phone.
- By ABI Research's count, mobile commerce tripled in the United States in 2009, but still only constituted a $1.2bn market.
- In Japan, which has one of the most vibrant mobile markets, mobile commerce exceeded $10bn in 2009.
Mobile internet usage (Essential Research)
- 47% of daily mobile internet users live in urban areas, while 42% of mobile internet users earn over £40,000 a year (household income) compared to 31% of non users.
- These daily mobile internet users are also more likely to spend more on their monthly mobile bills, 55% pay over £30 a month, compared to 10% of non users.
Smartphone usage (comScore)
- In the three month period ending in February 2010, 45.4m people in the U.S. owned smartphones, a 21% jump over November 2009.
- The fastest gainer in that segment is Google, whose Android platform rose by an impressive 5.2% in only three months.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tickets.com to Present at Internet Retailer's Mobile Commerce Conference
The American consumer's mindset is changing. Consumers are increasingly relying on mobile phones not only as phones but also as devices for obtaining information and conducting transactions—be that buying movie tickets, purchasing merchandise or checking flight times.
Internet Retailer's first annual Mobile Commerce Forum: Mobile Commerce Enters the Mainstream, will present a cross-industry view of how marketers are driving business results using the mobile channel. The conference agenda will bring together different industries so they can learn from each other and travel this fast-rising growth curve together. Featuring ticket sellers, travel and hospitality companies, retailers, and entertainment and digital service providers, it will present speakers who will share their experience in developing and executing successful mobile commerce initiatives.
Sheri Fink, eCommerce & Strategic Alliances, will be speaking on behalf of Tickets.com to share the experience of developing the Tickets.com mobile site and the unique challenges the team faced throughout the mobilization process. The conference will present a cross-industry view of how marketers are driving business results using the mobile channel.
Designing for mobile
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Two schools exist when it comes to web page presentation on mobile—design a mobile site separate from the e-commerce site or let the mobile device reflect the e-commerce design. Whichever approach a marketer adopts, the m-commerce and e-commerce teams need to know the pluses and minuses of each. This session will explore the strategies of two mobile players who will explain why they made the choices they did, and help attendees know which approach is right for their own products and services. It also will feature a usability expert who will look at how to test to make sure the site is displaying properly and how to test navigability and usability of a mobile design and of e-commerce designs adapted for mobile.
Learn more >
Internet Retailer's first annual Mobile Commerce Forum: Mobile Commerce Enters the Mainstream, will present a cross-industry view of how marketers are driving business results using the mobile channel. The conference agenda will bring together different industries so they can learn from each other and travel this fast-rising growth curve together. Featuring ticket sellers, travel and hospitality companies, retailers, and entertainment and digital service providers, it will present speakers who will share their experience in developing and executing successful mobile commerce initiatives.
Sheri Fink, eCommerce & Strategic Alliances, will be speaking on behalf of Tickets.com to share the experience of developing the Tickets.com mobile site and the unique challenges the team faced throughout the mobilization process. The conference will present a cross-industry view of how marketers are driving business results using the mobile channel.
Designing for mobile
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Two schools exist when it comes to web page presentation on mobile—design a mobile site separate from the e-commerce site or let the mobile device reflect the e-commerce design. Whichever approach a marketer adopts, the m-commerce and e-commerce teams need to know the pluses and minuses of each. This session will explore the strategies of two mobile players who will explain why they made the choices they did, and help attendees know which approach is right for their own products and services. It also will feature a usability expert who will look at how to test to make sure the site is displaying properly and how to test navigability and usability of a mobile design and of e-commerce designs adapted for mobile.
Learn more >
Thursday, June 10, 2010
One in Five U.S. Adult Consumers Now Using Mobile Commerce
Fierce Mobile Content
By Jason Ankeny
One in five U.S. adult wireless subscribers utilized mobile commerce services in the past month according to a new consumer study conducted by non-profit industry trade group the Mobile Marketing Association in partnership with Luth Research. Among 1,000 adult subscribers surveyed in mid-April, 17 percent of respondents purchased mobile applications, ringtones and related digital content, 6 percent used their phones to receive coupons or discounts and another 6 percent bought physical goods or non-mobile content and services.
The MMA notes that more than half of iPhone owners and 34 percent of BlackBerry users have purchased content for their smartphones, more than subscribers across rival platforms. Fifty-six percent of mobile content purchases were made through the subscriber's carrier, and 43 percent paid for the transaction via bank or credit card account. Regardless of transaction type, adults between the ages of 25 and 34 used their phones more than other age groups--the MMA adds that most respondents consider m-commerce to be "secure and trustworthy."
Read more on the MMA m-commerce study >
By Jason Ankeny
One in five U.S. adult wireless subscribers utilized mobile commerce services in the past month according to a new consumer study conducted by non-profit industry trade group the Mobile Marketing Association in partnership with Luth Research. Among 1,000 adult subscribers surveyed in mid-April, 17 percent of respondents purchased mobile applications, ringtones and related digital content, 6 percent used their phones to receive coupons or discounts and another 6 percent bought physical goods or non-mobile content and services.
The MMA notes that more than half of iPhone owners and 34 percent of BlackBerry users have purchased content for their smartphones, more than subscribers across rival platforms. Fifty-six percent of mobile content purchases were made through the subscriber's carrier, and 43 percent paid for the transaction via bank or credit card account. Regardless of transaction type, adults between the ages of 25 and 34 used their phones more than other age groups--the MMA adds that most respondents consider m-commerce to be "secure and trustworthy."
Read more on the MMA m-commerce study >
Friday, May 21, 2010
What a Girl Wants: More Mobile Shopping
Mashable.com
by Jolie O'Dell
Mobile shopping company miBuys conducted a survey of 1,600 women on mobile phones and discovered that the majority is indeed interested in mobile commerce.
94% responded that they use their phones to browse the mobile Web, sometimes even if at home or nearby a computer, and 70% expect their mobile Internet usage to increase in the future.
Most of these engaged mobile users acknowledged that they sometimes splurge on items and would be open to learning about discounts, deals, and even promotions on their phones.
Read more >
by Jolie O'Dell
Mobile shopping company miBuys conducted a survey of 1,600 women on mobile phones and discovered that the majority is indeed interested in mobile commerce.
94% responded that they use their phones to browse the mobile Web, sometimes even if at home or nearby a computer, and 70% expect their mobile Internet usage to increase in the future.
Most of these engaged mobile users acknowledged that they sometimes splurge on items and would be open to learning about discounts, deals, and even promotions on their phones.
Read more >
Monday, April 26, 2010
New Study Shows the Mobile Web Will Rule by 2015
Morgan Stanley shared a comprehensive report charting the most important online trends and predicting the future of the Internet. In addition to forecasting more online shopping and showing the geographical distribution of Internet users, the study also shows a dramatic shift toward mobile web use.
mCommerce continues to grow, more quickly than e-commerce, now consisting of 4% of total retail sales. In addition, social networking has already eclipsed email usage.
Read more >
mCommerce continues to grow, more quickly than e-commerce, now consisting of 4% of total retail sales. In addition, social networking has already eclipsed email usage.
Read more >
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Mobile App or Browser-Based Site? Report Says The Browser Will Win on Mobile
Read Write Web
Richard MacManus
Mobile search company Taptu has released a detailed report showing that the future of the Mobile Web is likely to be dominated by cross-platform browser-based mobile web sites - rather than apps built specifically for iPhone, Android, or any other platform. Taptu calls the former "the Mobile Touch Web," which it defines as "Web sites created for mobile touchscreen devices, with finger-friendly layouts and lightweight pages that are fast to load over cellular networks."
Taptu estimates that there are 326,000 Mobile Touch Web sites worldwide, which they say compares to 148,000 iPhone apps in the App Store and 24,000 apps in the Android market. Taptu expects the browser-based mobile web market to grow much faster than the app market.
What kinds of sites are more likely to be browser-based for mobile phones? According to the report, 19% of the mobile sites measured were Shopping & Services sites; compared to 3.6% in the same category in the App Store. Content in the 'Social' category also has a higher chance of being a browser-based mobile site, rather than an app (12.9% to 1.7%).
Conversely, just 0.8% of mobile sites were gaming, compared to 18% of apps in the App Store. There is a similar discrepency in the 'Entertainment' category.
It seems then that commerce services are taking more advantage of mobile web browsers than gaming and entertainment providers. But why? Taptu says it's because "many [Commerce] products and services do not really fit into Apple's iTunes content-oriented billing system." Meanwhile, gaming and entertainment content is better delivered as an app, says Taptu, "since apps deliver a much richer, more interactive gaming experience than the casual games available on the Mobile Web."
Taptu says that the increasing sophistication of mobile browsers is one reason why browser-based mobile sites will flourish. In particular, it points to increasing support for HTML 5. See our analysis of Web vs. Native Mobile Apps if you'd like to know more about this.
According to Taptu, "it's getting easier and easier to create rich touch screen user experiences with the browser without having to create platform-specific apps." Taptu also points to increasing usage of open standard APIs, enabling Mobile Web developers to access "deeper device functions such as geolocation."
Taptu does concede that gaming content will probably continue to be delivered predominantly as download apps on iPhone and similar devices. However it claims that for "many other types of app, the economics of software development and publishing favours the Web development route."
Taptu predicts that "the Mobile Touch Web will grow vigorously over the next five years, and will approach the quality of user experience of Mobile Touch Apps across all the app categories except for games."
Richard MacManus
Mobile search company Taptu has released a detailed report showing that the future of the Mobile Web is likely to be dominated by cross-platform browser-based mobile web sites - rather than apps built specifically for iPhone, Android, or any other platform. Taptu calls the former "the Mobile Touch Web," which it defines as "Web sites created for mobile touchscreen devices, with finger-friendly layouts and lightweight pages that are fast to load over cellular networks."
Taptu estimates that there are 326,000 Mobile Touch Web sites worldwide, which they say compares to 148,000 iPhone apps in the App Store and 24,000 apps in the Android market. Taptu expects the browser-based mobile web market to grow much faster than the app market.
What kinds of sites are more likely to be browser-based for mobile phones? According to the report, 19% of the mobile sites measured were Shopping & Services sites; compared to 3.6% in the same category in the App Store. Content in the 'Social' category also has a higher chance of being a browser-based mobile site, rather than an app (12.9% to 1.7%).
Conversely, just 0.8% of mobile sites were gaming, compared to 18% of apps in the App Store. There is a similar discrepency in the 'Entertainment' category.
It seems then that commerce services are taking more advantage of mobile web browsers than gaming and entertainment providers. But why? Taptu says it's because "many [Commerce] products and services do not really fit into Apple's iTunes content-oriented billing system." Meanwhile, gaming and entertainment content is better delivered as an app, says Taptu, "since apps deliver a much richer, more interactive gaming experience than the casual games available on the Mobile Web."
Taptu says that the increasing sophistication of mobile browsers is one reason why browser-based mobile sites will flourish. In particular, it points to increasing support for HTML 5. See our analysis of Web vs. Native Mobile Apps if you'd like to know more about this.
According to Taptu, "it's getting easier and easier to create rich touch screen user experiences with the browser without having to create platform-specific apps." Taptu also points to increasing usage of open standard APIs, enabling Mobile Web developers to access "deeper device functions such as geolocation."
Taptu does concede that gaming content will probably continue to be delivered predominantly as download apps on iPhone and similar devices. However it claims that for "many other types of app, the economics of software development and publishing favours the Web development route."
Taptu predicts that "the Mobile Touch Web will grow vigorously over the next five years, and will approach the quality of user experience of Mobile Touch Apps across all the app categories except for games."
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Shopping by Mobile Will Grow to $119 Billion in 2015
In 2015, shoppers around the world are expected to spend about $119 billion on goods and services purchased via mobile phones. That number represents about 8% of the total e-commerce market.
“Mobile online shopping is reaching critical mass,” says senior analyst Mark Beccue. “In the United States, mobile online shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009. While definitions of ‘mass market adoption’ vary, a more than threefold increase in one year indicates significant consumer interest."
Noteworthy is that even that $1+ billion turnover in the US is dwarfed by the size of the mobile online shopping market in Japan, which exceeded $10 billion in 2009 alone.
This market is growing solidly in Europe too, and is expected to outpace the US by the end of 2010.
“The driver for mobile online shopping in the US has been the recent sharp spike in smartphone adoption and the corresponding enthusiasm for mobile Internet. Also, many more retailers have been launching mobile commerce websites,” adds Beccue. A longer-term driver in global terms is the fact that in many less-industrialized regions, mobile is virtually the only way to access the Internet.
Not only does mobile online shopping allow shoppers to manage their time better, but in the fourth quarter of 2009, an interesting trend emerged: consumers were checking out products in bricks-and-mortar retail stores and using their phones for comparison shopping.
A subset of mobile commerce is the trade in virtual goods, generally associated with online gaming. This too has seen rapid uptake, as mobile payments are the best option for online purchases under about $20, and this way of shopping is especially suitable for those – often young gamers – without credit cards.
ABI Research’s new “Mobile Commerce” study focuses on two emerging developments in mobile commerce: mobile online shopping and mobile payments for virtual goods. The report includes global forecasts for e-commerce, mobile online shopping (viewed as a subset of e-commerce), virtual goods, and mobile payments for virtual goods.
It is part of the firm’s Mobile Money Research Service, which also includes other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.
ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.
“Mobile online shopping is reaching critical mass,” says senior analyst Mark Beccue. “In the United States, mobile online shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009. While definitions of ‘mass market adoption’ vary, a more than threefold increase in one year indicates significant consumer interest."
Noteworthy is that even that $1+ billion turnover in the US is dwarfed by the size of the mobile online shopping market in Japan, which exceeded $10 billion in 2009 alone.
This market is growing solidly in Europe too, and is expected to outpace the US by the end of 2010.
“The driver for mobile online shopping in the US has been the recent sharp spike in smartphone adoption and the corresponding enthusiasm for mobile Internet. Also, many more retailers have been launching mobile commerce websites,” adds Beccue. A longer-term driver in global terms is the fact that in many less-industrialized regions, mobile is virtually the only way to access the Internet.
Not only does mobile online shopping allow shoppers to manage their time better, but in the fourth quarter of 2009, an interesting trend emerged: consumers were checking out products in bricks-and-mortar retail stores and using their phones for comparison shopping.
A subset of mobile commerce is the trade in virtual goods, generally associated with online gaming. This too has seen rapid uptake, as mobile payments are the best option for online purchases under about $20, and this way of shopping is especially suitable for those – often young gamers – without credit cards.
ABI Research’s new “Mobile Commerce” study focuses on two emerging developments in mobile commerce: mobile online shopping and mobile payments for virtual goods. The report includes global forecasts for e-commerce, mobile online shopping (viewed as a subset of e-commerce), virtual goods, and mobile payments for virtual goods.
It is part of the firm’s Mobile Money Research Service, which also includes other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.
ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tickets.com in the News: Digital tickets for Oakland A's fans
San Jose Web 2.0 Examiner
Bonnie Boglioli-Randall
The Oakland Athletics sealed a deal with Costa Mesa-based Tickets.com to offer its fans complete mobile ticketing from start to finish. The A's are the first Major League Baseball club to implement start-to-finish mobile ticketing with the ProVenue mobile platform technology. With no applications necessary or calls to make, the purchase is short and sweet. Even better is the digitally delivered bar-code that eliminates the once necessary 3 P's of m-commerce: print, post or pick-up.
The A's Executive Director of Ticket Sales, Steve Fanelli, cited the importance of getting a piece of the mobile pie. "Staying ahead of advances in the mobile web market is critical in pleasing our fans and growing our organization," Fanelli said in a press release.
To see just how easy this process is, visit the mobile friendly A's website from your smart phone. Click on the prominent schedule link, choose your intended game, pay for it from your cell phone and wait briefly for your 2-D digital ticket. A slew of phones are compatible with the new ticketing feature including the iPhone (and iPod Touch), several Blackberry's and a few LG's. The Athletic's note that more devices are expected to be enabled shortly.
Response to the ProVenue platform has been positive thus far, with clients such as the Daytona International Speedway already on board. Tickets.com is currently the only ticket provider in the U.S. to offer complete ticketing via mobile. With m-commerce (mobile) usage on the rise since the advent of smart phones, it is expected that more such options will be made available within the next year for other sporting clubs.
Bonnie Boglioli-Randall
The Oakland Athletics sealed a deal with Costa Mesa-based Tickets.com to offer its fans complete mobile ticketing from start to finish. The A's are the first Major League Baseball club to implement start-to-finish mobile ticketing with the ProVenue mobile platform technology. With no applications necessary or calls to make, the purchase is short and sweet. Even better is the digitally delivered bar-code that eliminates the once necessary 3 P's of m-commerce: print, post or pick-up.
The A's Executive Director of Ticket Sales, Steve Fanelli, cited the importance of getting a piece of the mobile pie. "Staying ahead of advances in the mobile web market is critical in pleasing our fans and growing our organization," Fanelli said in a press release.
To see just how easy this process is, visit the mobile friendly A's website from your smart phone. Click on the prominent schedule link, choose your intended game, pay for it from your cell phone and wait briefly for your 2-D digital ticket. A slew of phones are compatible with the new ticketing feature including the iPhone (and iPod Touch), several Blackberry's and a few LG's. The Athletic's note that more devices are expected to be enabled shortly.
Response to the ProVenue platform has been positive thus far, with clients such as the Daytona International Speedway already on board. Tickets.com is currently the only ticket provider in the U.S. to offer complete ticketing via mobile. With m-commerce (mobile) usage on the rise since the advent of smart phones, it is expected that more such options will be made available within the next year for other sporting clubs.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Webinar: Mobile Commerce for the Holidays
Yankee Group recently organized a Webinar around the impending holiday m-commerce activity. According to one of their surveys, approximately 41% of participants claim they will purchase a smartphone as their next device, a statistic that renders mobile commerce increasingly significant. Another survey reveals that 14% of consumers are interested in mobile transactions and an additional 18% "may be interested." Yankee Group predicts that by 2013, 2.5 million U.S. consumers will participate in the mobile coupon market, generating $2.3 billion.
View the Webinar >
View the Webinar >
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tickets.com Partner Usablenet in the News
Mobile Commerce Daily called on Usablenet's Nick Taylor to provide thought leadership on the m-commerce space. Taylor argues, "It's vital for retailers to provide a mobile Web presence for shoppers. Customers are already trying to make purchases through their phones, so why not let them have a successful experience?"
Read more >
Tickets.com offers two industry-leading mobile ticketing solutions:
ProVenueMobile, in partnership with Usablenet, for mobile ticket purchasing and Tickets@Phone, in partnership with Mobiqa, for mobile ticket delivery.
Read more >
Tickets.com offers two industry-leading mobile ticketing solutions:
ProVenueMobile, in partnership with Usablenet, for mobile ticket purchasing and Tickets@Phone, in partnership with Mobiqa, for mobile ticket delivery.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Mobile Devices and Shopping: Shop.org Research Results
Shop.org
Fiona Swerdlow
According to research conducted by Shop.org that interviewed nearly 7,000 people, approximately half of the 18 to 34 year-old participants enjoy product and price comparisons, store information, in-store events and specials, product availability, and coupons via their mobile phones. Scoring only slightly lower, female respondents also view similar shopping functionality as very useful.
Read more >
Fiona Swerdlow
According to research conducted by Shop.org that interviewed nearly 7,000 people, approximately half of the 18 to 34 year-old participants enjoy product and price comparisons, store information, in-store events and specials, product availability, and coupons via their mobile phones. Scoring only slightly lower, female respondents also view similar shopping functionality as very useful.
Read more >
Friday, November 6, 2009
Retailers Are Learning to Love Smartphones
As apps have improved, m-commerce—buying all kinds of things via iPhone and BlackBerry—is rising
Business Week
By Reena Jana
People are using their smartphones for more than just making calls, sending e-mails, or watching YouTube (GOOG) videos. The fastest-growing cell-phone activity is shopping directly from a handset, reports market researcher Gartner (IT). Retailers from Amazon (AMZN) to CVS (CVS) to Sears (SHLD) have recently launched "m-commerce" sites or software applications that allow shoppers to browse and buy books, medicine, or even lawn mowers from their iPhones and BlackBerrys. "It's in-and-out, surgical-style shopping behavior" influenced by the recessionary need to focus on necessities, says Thomas Emmons, head of the mobile innovation group at Sears.
Some of the iPhone apps enable mobile shoppers to do even more. While strolling among the bookcases at a brick-and-mortar Barnes & Noble (BKS) store, people can use the Apple (AAPL) smartphone to snap a photo of the latest Jim Collins management title, for example. Image-recognition software triggers an algorithm to recognize the product in a database. The software then pulls up user reviews from Barnesandnoble.com on the handset's screen almost instantly to help shoppers decide whether to buy or pass. "We've seen a huge uplift in reservations of books for purchase in physical stores, as well as buying, from the iPhone app since we launched it," says Douglas Gottlieb, the retail chain's vice-president for digital devices.
In the travel industry, companies are using m-commerce to target businesspeople who need to purchase plane tickets and book hotel rooms while in transit. In the first four months after Marriott International (MAR) launched an m-commerce application for all smartphones, in August 2008, customers used it to spend $2 million even as overall travel expenditures slumped.
Why is m-commerce suddenly capturing the attention of retailers and consumers? "Shoppers now have the ability to buy on their phones easily as retailers are starting to get the design of iPhone and other applications right," says Gartner analyst Hung LeHong. Shop-by-phone consumers can pick up purchases in stores or have them shipped home or to a hotel without logging on to computers or interacting with salespeople.
M-commerce software specialists say business is surging. Jason Taylor, senior vice-president for mobile products at New York's Usablenet, which created m-commerce sites for Sears, Limited Brands (LTD), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), and CVS, says it has signed three times more contracts in the past quarter than in previous periods. With more people buying smartphones—Gartner's latest worldwide sales data show a 12.7% increase in units sold in the first quarter of 2009 from a year earlier—the m-commerce market is likely to keep growing.
Business Week
By Reena Jana
People are using their smartphones for more than just making calls, sending e-mails, or watching YouTube (GOOG) videos. The fastest-growing cell-phone activity is shopping directly from a handset, reports market researcher Gartner (IT). Retailers from Amazon (AMZN) to CVS (CVS) to Sears (SHLD) have recently launched "m-commerce" sites or software applications that allow shoppers to browse and buy books, medicine, or even lawn mowers from their iPhones and BlackBerrys. "It's in-and-out, surgical-style shopping behavior" influenced by the recessionary need to focus on necessities, says Thomas Emmons, head of the mobile innovation group at Sears.
Some of the iPhone apps enable mobile shoppers to do even more. While strolling among the bookcases at a brick-and-mortar Barnes & Noble (BKS) store, people can use the Apple (AAPL) smartphone to snap a photo of the latest Jim Collins management title, for example. Image-recognition software triggers an algorithm to recognize the product in a database. The software then pulls up user reviews from Barnesandnoble.com on the handset's screen almost instantly to help shoppers decide whether to buy or pass. "We've seen a huge uplift in reservations of books for purchase in physical stores, as well as buying, from the iPhone app since we launched it," says Douglas Gottlieb, the retail chain's vice-president for digital devices.
In the travel industry, companies are using m-commerce to target businesspeople who need to purchase plane tickets and book hotel rooms while in transit. In the first four months after Marriott International (MAR) launched an m-commerce application for all smartphones, in August 2008, customers used it to spend $2 million even as overall travel expenditures slumped.
Why is m-commerce suddenly capturing the attention of retailers and consumers? "Shoppers now have the ability to buy on their phones easily as retailers are starting to get the design of iPhone and other applications right," says Gartner analyst Hung LeHong. Shop-by-phone consumers can pick up purchases in stores or have them shipped home or to a hotel without logging on to computers or interacting with salespeople.
M-commerce software specialists say business is surging. Jason Taylor, senior vice-president for mobile products at New York's Usablenet, which created m-commerce sites for Sears, Limited Brands (LTD), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), and CVS, says it has signed three times more contracts in the past quarter than in previous periods. With more people buying smartphones—Gartner's latest worldwide sales data show a 12.7% increase in units sold in the first quarter of 2009 from a year earlier—the m-commerce market is likely to keep growing.
Friday, July 3, 2009
M-commerce is catching on: 5% of the top 500 e-retailers offer mobile sites
Internet Retailer
Mobile commerce, what some retailers call the fourth sales channel, is catching on. Today, 5% of the largest e-retailers offer m-commerce sites or iPhone-optimized m-commerce sites, according to new research from e-commerce and m-commerce consulting firm Acquity Group LLC.
“Within five years that figure will approach 50%,” predicts Adam Boysen, project manager at Acquity Group. “The trends all are pointing in that direction—people are increasingly on the move, smartphone sales are soaring, awareness of mobile web browsing is growing greatly. We’re primed for big growth in mobile retailing.”
Learn about ProVenueMobile from Tickets.com >
Read more >
Mobile commerce, what some retailers call the fourth sales channel, is catching on. Today, 5% of the largest e-retailers offer m-commerce sites or iPhone-optimized m-commerce sites, according to new research from e-commerce and m-commerce consulting firm Acquity Group LLC.
“Within five years that figure will approach 50%,” predicts Adam Boysen, project manager at Acquity Group. “The trends all are pointing in that direction—people are increasingly on the move, smartphone sales are soaring, awareness of mobile web browsing is growing greatly. We’re primed for big growth in mobile retailing.”
Learn about ProVenueMobile from Tickets.com >
Read more >
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