Mobile Commerce

By Clark Ingram and Caitlin Worley

What is Mobile Commerce?“Electronic commerce transacted over

mobile communication devices such as cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDA).”

Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/m-commerce.html

History of Mobile Commerce

• Invention credited to engineer Matt Wilson• First use of this technology was in 1997 in Finland• Original technology used text messages for payment

for products and services• In 2000 many other countries began offering mobile

payment services for parking, train tickets, and airline reservations

• In 2006 the iPhone was developed and applications became the new method of mobile shopping

Advantages of Mobile Commerce

•Wider reach for retailers and consumers

•Effective price comparison tool

•Streamlining the buying process

•Convenience

Disadvantages of Mobile Commerce

•Technological issues with mobile devices

•Lack of sufficient network capabilities in rural areas

•Fewer functions available than with Internet shopping

•Security issues

•Lack of confidence in products

Forecasts and Trends in Mobile Commerce

• From 2009 to 2010, global mobile commerce sales rose from $1.2 billion to $6 billion

• Mobile commerce now accounts for 6% of the total global online sales, up from just 0.6% in 2009

• Mobile shopping sales are expected to increase at a rate of 40% every year for the next 5 years, eventually topping $31 billion worldwide by 2016

Forecasts and Trends in Mobile Commerce

• China is the fastest-growing market for mobile commerce

• Currently ranked 3rd in the world in mobile commerce sales behind Japan and the USA

• 850 million people in China have mobile devices

• Smartphone sales and installation of 3G networks are both increasing significantly there

• In 2009, mobile commerce revenue made up 0.3% of the total online sales revenue in China. Currently that number has already risen to 6.4%.

Forecasts and Trends in Mobile Commerce

• Men between the ages of 30 to 49 make up the majority of mobile commerce consumers worldwide

•They not only shop in a greater number of product categories, but they also spend more money and time mobile shopping than women and men from other age groups

• The leading product categories in mobile commerce are music and games, followed closely by shoes and clothing, electronics, and reading materials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O4Dr6XvI5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOTPIoASuQw

Retail Mobile Sites

Questions

1. Do you think that mobile shopping will eventually replace computer-based online shopping? If so, why?

2. Other than the apps discussed today, what are your favorite shopping apps and why?

3. What other ideas do you think will develop in mobile shopping?