Mobile Ecommerce Trends

Article by Mitchel Xavier

There are some who say that that the internet is the biggest revolution of our lifetimes. There are others who say that the evolution towards mobile is the major revolution. Either way, mobile is set to revolutionize the way we access the internet and make purchases. Some interesting trends are set to emerge in the mobile ecommerce arena. The following will outline some of the most interesting developments.

Location Aware Mobile Coupons

To access mobile coupons you need to download an app and the app automatically retrievedeals in your geographic area. When you purchase the product or service, you show the merchant the deal on your phone or tablet and they will scan the barcode to activate your discount. New companies are appearing, for example Shooger, Getyowza, Coupious and 8coupons, offering these types of coupon codes.

In terms of trends, this is an area still in its infancy. Currently only 9% of the population reported having received a coupon code via their mobile. But the trends are showing that this will potentially be very popular. 41% of people want this type of service, in particular for grocery services and movie theatres. Indications are showing thatthis technology will take off.

Barcode Scanners – QR Codes

A QR code is a 2 dimensional code, rather than the 1 dimensional standard UPC barcode we are used to. They can be placed in any location for scanning, can produce text, links, phone numbers, sms, mms, email, contact details and calendar entry. There are other forms of 2D barcodes, such as Datamatrix, ScanLifeEzcode and Microsoft Tag. Additionally they can also be tracked with analytics and there quite sophisticated tracking tools for this.

QR codes are being used successfully for marketing. It can be distributed to share your business card. They are also being used for offering discounts. They are great for SEO to share free offerings such as wallpapers in return for a link. In addition they are often encouraging social network sharing. For simply providing more information QR codes are a novel option.

Currently Japan and South Korean are at the forefront of scanning technology.  In the west, it is only just starting to take off,and the barcode scanning trend numbers have gone through the roof. Research conducted by Scanlife showed a 1600% increase in barcode scanning in 2010.

NFC and tap to pay solutions – Google wallet

Earlier this year, Google announced Google Wallet, a contactless tap and pay device. It allows credit card, loyalty card and gift card payments using a smart phone via a pay-pass terminal. It uses near field communication (NFC) to exchange data for simple transactions. The significant advantage NFC has over Bluetooth is that it doesn’t require pairing. Google are one of a number of companies who are clamoring to jump into the NFC market. Paypaljust announced their intention to start a commercial NFC service.

Initially this Google announced this with Citi and Mastercard as partners, and Mastercard is the official sponsor of Wallet. There are 300,000 MastercardPaypass locations. Recently Google announced that Visa, Discover and American Express have released their NFC details, which means that Google Wallet will license these cards to be used in later versions. Visa PayWave also have 100,000s of terminals worldwide.

Many merchants are already partners, accepting Paypass payments including Coca Cola, CVS Pharmacy and Foot Locker. The loyalty scheme also has a number of partners including Jamba Juice, Office Max and Toys R Us. There are many merchants in the pipeline. Currently Google Wallet only works on the Nexus S 4G and will be available when the Nexus Prime is released Google Announced that it will make available Google Wallet stickers to allow smartphones which are not NFC enabled, to use Google Wallet.

Future Trends

Which these trends becoming more popular, we are likely to see some of these trends become the standard forms of mobile behavior. To gain a perspective about what is possible, it is useful to look towards Japan and South Korean, where advanced mobile technology is already in widespread use.

About the Author:

Mitchel Xavier is a Magento mobile  and mobile commerce specialist in Sydney Australia