Denny |
November 29, 2012
Mobile commerce report shows increase in mobile app use
By now, it is no secret that mobile c
ommerce had a strong showing during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping weekend. A multitude of retailers put intense focus on mobile consumers this year in the hopes of engaging these people in various mobile commerce platforms. Onavo, a mobile data compression firm, has released information concerning which of these platforms performed the best during the shopping weekend. The company tracked the performance of these platforms that were put to use by some of the largest retailers in the world.
Report shows Best Buy saw greatest increase in mobile commerce traffic this year
According to Onavo, Groupon remained the most used mobile commerce application during the holiday shopping weekend. Best Buy, however, saw the largest increase in overall commerce on Black Friday. Use of the company’s mobile commerce application shot up by almost 600% on a single day. The Best Buy application was followed closely by one from Wal-Mart. A mobile commerce application from Kohl’s saw an increase in use of over 300% on the same day.
Report accounts for iOS platform only
Notably, Onavo’s report accounts only for iPhone users, thus physical payments made with a mobile device are not represented. The Android platform is currently the only mainstream mobile operating system that supports NFC technology, which facilitates mobile payments for physical products. The report also does not account for the mobile commerce activity that came from consumers with Android devices. These consumers are estimated to have accounted for a major portion of overall mobile commerce activity during the holiday shopping weekend.
Consumers continue to become more comfortable with mobile commerce
Mobile commerce continues to grow in popularity amongst consumers. Retailers have been working to raise the awareness of mobile commerce for several months, hoping to engage a relatively new audience of tech-savvy consumers. These efforts seem to have paid off and may have established a foundation upon which retailers can build more engaging mobile commerce venture for the future.
Denny |
November 26, 2012
American Express sets sights on Television commerce
American Express has been showing a great deal of interest in mobile commerce recently, as have many other financial service companies around the world. Mobile commerce has been targeted as a promising way to spark economic activity in the retail industry as it provides more consumers with the ability to make purchases from wherever they are in the world. American Express has announced a line-up of partnerships with several media companies to explore a new realm of mobile commerce that is being called “Television commerce.”
New commerce venture aims to boost mobile shopping through TV shows
Television commerce is a relatively simple, though never before attempted concept. Essentially, consumers will be able to shop for products in real time while watching the TV shows they enjoy, without having to miss these shows in any way. Television commerce holds particular promise because it would allow for consumers to be engaged in a wide variety of promotions, such as being giving the chance to purchase an outfit they saw on one of their favorite TV shows.
American Express teams with FOX for new venture
American Express has teams with Fox Broadcasting Company to initiate Television commerce. The two companies have developed a new suite of mobile applications called FOX NOW that allow consumers to browse products found on FOX TV shows using their iPad. American Express customers with eligible cards will receive $35 credit if they purchase a featured product on FOX’s “New Girl” show. The partnership between the two companies will extend into 2013.
Television commerce may be a success if it can overcome challenges
Television commerce is a new venture and presents a variety of risks. Consumers may not be inclined to participate in Television commerce regularly if they are not offered significant deals, thus rendering the venture a modest success. There is a possibility that Television commerce could become a breakaway sensation, however, which could spark the developing of new T-commerce initiatives that aim to engage consumers thorough their favorite TV shows.
