Mobile Commerce: Your Gateway to Today’s ‘On Demand’ Generation of Consumers

What exactly do we mean by the term: ‘mobile commerce’?

Essentially, mobile commerce relates to two concepts: ecommerce on mobile devices and payments presented and processed on mobile devices.
So what are the benefits to the retailer in adopting a mobile platform for commerce/ payment transactions?

Quite simply, mobile commerce developers can help you reach many more people interested in your company, its products and services. Millions of people globally access the World Wide Web every day via smart cell phones and other hand-held remote devices and that number is growing all the time. It is predicted that by 2012 one per cent of all transactions in the US next year will be via a mobile device. Currently it is estimated that 82 per cent of Americans never leave home without their mobile phone.

Mobile commerce satisfies the expectation of the current generation’s desire for on-demand consumption – if your business website doesn’t facilitate remote users, then you risk losing out to a rival whose business does.

A m-commerce developer can provide you with bespoke solutions for:

 Mobile applications
 Mobile shopping
 Mobile payments
 Mobile advertising and marketing

And customers can use mobile technology to:

• Buy tickets: travel tickets; cinema tickets; event tickets.
• Make a restaurant reservation.
• Book a hotel.
• Choose and send gifts.
• Purchase CDs/DVDs/ computer games.
• Purchase Software.
• Sign up for a subscription service.
And plenty more . . .

Mobile commerce enables you to create stronger loyalty for your brand and improve your one-on-one marketing communications, which in turn will impact positively on your conversion rates.

For example, mobile coupons can be used to provide an ongoing dialogue between your brand and potential customers. Juniper Research states that almost $7 billion of coupon discounts will be redeemed by the end of 2011. And according to eMarketer, mobile marketing and advertising is projected to exceed $1 billion in the next two years.

Whether or not you have yet considered a mobile commerce solution for your business, the fact is, more and more customers are buying Smartphones, and many of those will be looking to make purchases with them.

The beauty of mobile commerce is that it can seamlessly integrate with your current management and payment progressing systems without you having to change the way you work. What’s more, your system remains up-to-date 24/7.

As an online retailer there is a huge opportunity to launch mobile retail sites and apps and to gain a head start on your competitors in this channel.
Now that’s worth considering.