China expected to see strong growth in mobile commerce sector
New research from online services and e-commerce giant Alibaba shows that mobile commerce is set for aggressive growth in China. The country is expected to boast of more than 322 million online shoppers by 2016 and many of these consumers are expected to make purchases from their mobile devices. Alibaba, which is the country’s largest online shopping company, expects that the Chinese mobile commerce sector will reach a new high in the coming years, especially as retailers become more accommodating of these consumers.
Mobile commerce sales to reach $41 billion by 2015
According to Alibaba, mobile commerce is expected to account for more than $27 billion in sales in 2014. By 2015, the mobile commerce sector is expected to be worth more than $41 billion. Alibaba notes that in 2012, mobile commerce accounted for only $7.8 billion in sales throughout the country, but this was due to the relative lack of effective mobile payments services that were available to consumers.
Singles Day proven the power of mobile payments
A 24-hour shopping spree is held in China every year called “Singles Day.” The tradition encourages Chinese citizens to visit shops and purchase products they are interested in and is very similar to Cyber Monday and Black Friday i
n the U.S. During last year’s Singles Day, more than $3 billion in mobile payments were recorded throughout China. This encouraged several companies to take the concept of mobile commerce more seriously.
Security a top priority for mobile consumers
By the end of this year, Alibaba expects that mobile commerce will account for $15 billion in sales throughout China. Several companies are still getting accustomed to accepting mobile payments, but growth is expected to pick up momentum as these companies become more comfortable with mobile commerce. Consumers have many concerns regarding mobile payments, the chief of which regards security. Alibaba, which provides mobile payments services, notes that security is such a big concern among Chinese consumers that it could potential derail the projected growth of mobile commerce. As such, Alibaba, as well as other companies, are taking steps to improve mobile commerce security.
Mobile commerce sparks major growth in the retail sector
E-commerce is growing in China, backed heavily by an interest among consumers in mobile commerce. Jingdong Mall, the country’s largest online retailer, has announced receiving more than $700 million in funding from a consortium of investors that are interested in the company’s prospects in e-commerce. The funds are expected to help expand the company’s digital operations and new business ventures. Jingdong Mall is not the only retailer that has been seeing heavy investment activity recently. Several others have been finding success through a stronger focus on mobile commerce and the consumers enthralled by mobile technology.
Transaction volume growing quickly due to online shopping
According to a recent report from the E-Commerce Research Center, digital payment volume in China’s retail sector has been growing aggressively. By the end of December, 2012, online transaction volume in the retail market reached more than $160 billion, a growth of more than 64% over what this volume had been in 2011. The number of online shoppers has also increased in the country, reaching 247 million consumers by the end of 2012. Many of these consumers made purchases throughout the year using their mobile device.
Consumers show favor for mobile shopping
The growth of mobile commerce and e-commerce is expected to have a significant impact on physical retailers in the coming years. Many of these retailers in China has begun making the transition toward e-commerce, with tentative plans to abandon their old brick-and-mortar shops at some point in the future. Those that have no plans to embrace e-commerce may find some success through the adoption of mobile commerce, but this success may be short lived as consumers begin to favor online platforms for shopping.
Internet connection proves to be a problem for mobile commerce
The development of mobile Internet continues to gain speed in China. As consumers gain access to better Internet connections, they will be more likely to participate in mobile commerce. Currently, slow load times for e-commerce sites and digital retail services keep many consumers from participating in mobile commerce. The retail sector is working to alleviate this issue, however, in order to capitalize on the prospects of mobile consumers.
