Tag: mobile app

Mobile apps are altering the way we shop

| November 26, 2014

Shoppers with smartphones and tablets are using those devices to research products and discounts.

This year, more than ever before, it is expected that consumers will be using mobile apps and other m-commerce opportunities on their smartphones and tablets to be able to compare products and prices and to find better deals, particularly throughout the opening weekend of the holiday shopping season.

This is making it look as though this weekend will be breaking all previous mobile shopping records.

The current prediction of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) are that mobile apps and websites will be used more this weekend than in any other starting weekend of the holiday season. They forecast that 103.3 million Americans will be shopping online – using laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets – from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday 2014. This will represent an increase in online shopping over that weekend of 6.1 million shoppers when compared to last year.

The report showed that mobile apps and websites will also be used far more than last year.

Mobile apps affect consumersIt determined that the total number of Americans who planned to shop over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend will be about 143 million people. Among them, 89 million American adults have the intention of purchasing some form of consumer technology products. The use of mobile devices will come into play at this time in order to compare the various products that are available and to be able to locate the best deals that can be found from retailers that sell them.

Almost three out of every four consumers (74 percent) expect to use their smartphones, tablets, or cell phones while shopping, whether to access shopping applications, to consult the mobile web, or simply to call someone else and ask questions with regards to products or purchases that are being considered. This is the highest total that has ever been recorded by the annual survey conducted by the CEA.

According to the chief economist of the CEA, Shawn DuBravac, “Consumers are becoming more comfortable with the security protocols and in using new payment options as they are being introduced to the marketplace.” He also pointed out that when it comes to mobile apps for payments “there are more options and choices” than there have ever been.

Augmented reality mobile banking app launched by Westpac New Zealand

| November 14, 2014

This represents the first time that AR technology has been used for managing money in a smartphone application.

Westpac New Zealand has now announced the release of an original type of mobile banking app that allows customers to be able to manage their money through the use of augmented reality technology.

The application was made possible through an international crowdsourcing effort in the United Kingdom.

This crowdsourcing occurred through the Westpac Global App Challenge – UK. This augmented reality mobile app brought together a 3D technology with a simple platform that provided a new level of dimension to the user’s ability to manage money. Simon Pomeroy, the chief digital officer of Westpac New Zealand explained that the primary goal of the bank in creating the app was to make it easy to use for the average consumer.

The use of augmented reality is a unique one when it comes to this type of mobile banking experience.

Mr. Pomeroy explained that “Once the app is set up a customer only has to tap it open and hold their credit or debit card under the camera on their phone. They then have access to a number of features that use 3D to bring the information alive.” He also went on to add that the bank is devoted to simplifying the banking experience for its customers and that this is only one of a number of examples of the ways in which they are doing this.

He stated that “This is another example of how we are using customer data in a far more personalized and visual way allowing customers to better understand and get more out of their finances.” Using AR technology can make it possible for the bank’s customers to check on the amount that they have spent on their credit cards over the prior five weeks, as well as the due date of their credit card payments, their previous five purchases, and their Hotpoints loyalty card balance.

Westpac has also revealed that it is seeking to broaden its augmented reality capabilities so that it will be more convenient for customers to make mobile payments transactions when purchasing products and services.