M-commerce introduction

M-COMMERCE — BENEFITS

The Benefits from Mobile Commerce Includes:

·          Internet offerings are easier and more convenient to access.

·          It offers considerable flexibility when conducting business.

·          It offers intense customer orientation and high customer loyalty, and this is due to innovative service strategies.

·          It offers lower transaction and personnel costs, which is due to the widespread automation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WIRELESS VS. WIRED 

·         Ubiquity: The use of wireless device enables the user to receivel information and conduct transactions anywhere, at anytime. 

·         Accessibility: Mobile device enables the user to be contacted atl virtually any time and place. The user also has the choice to limit their accessibility to particular persons or times.

·          Convenience: The portability of the wireless device and its functionsl from storing data to access to information or persons.  Localization: The emergence of location-specific based applications will enable the user to receive relevant information on which to act. 

·         Instant Connectivity (2.5G): Instant connectivity or “always on” isl becoming more prevalent with the emergence of 2.5 G networks, GPRS or EDGE. Users of 2.5 G services will benefit from easier and faster access to the Internet. 

·          Personalization: The combination of localization and personalization will create a new channel/business opportunity for reaching and attracting customers. Personalization will take the form of customized information, meeting the users’ preferences, followed by payment mechanisms that allow for personal information to be stored, eliminating the need to enter credit card information for each transaction. 

·         Time Sensitivity: Access to real-time information such as a stock quote that can be acted upon immediately or a sale at a local boutique. 

·         It reaches the destination server: And has to cover the same path again in reverse to complete the trip. There are many physical links (hops), wireless and wired line, between the end user’s client application software and the information server. There are also several pieces of software involved, many of which featuring queuing (i.e., they are asynchronous).

·          “M-commerce in its true form is the ability to charge an amount of  currency to a mobile phone either by applications like Mobil cash or Near Field Communications, the amount to be charged is actually taken from the Mobile device’s account or preloaded RFID chip”

Mobile commerce is the combination of mobile financial services and mobile customer relationship management (CRM). Some of the major players are : -

·         mBanking -  account management, account alerts, check account deposit, transfer funds, customer service via text etc.

·         mPayments -  Most of the major brands are building mobile-specific apps to serve their clients for example   Companies like Firethorn, Sybase 365, Monitise, Digby, Kony Solutions, Pay Pal, Vaultus, VivoTech, PayPal and WorkLight etc,  purchase goods and services, pay a bill using a phone, ticketing.

·         mVouchers -  coupons and gift cards,  mobile vouchers.

·         mRemittance - Mobile commerce also allows airtime on phone, money transfer between people and organizations.  Airtime transfer becomes a token for money transfer. For eg Companies like Sybase 365, P2P Cash, Obopay, Bling Nation.

The advantages of m-commerce are :

1. Providing wider reach.

2. Reducing transaction cost

3. Streamline business processes.

4. Competitive pricing.

5. Reducing time to order.

6. Purely personal

7. Secure

8. Location and time independent

The disadvantages of m-commerce are :

1. Technology constraints of mobile devices (memory,   Processing power, display capabilities, input methods)

2. User interface is often difficult to learn how to use.

3. Use of graphics limited

4. WAP and SMS limited to small number of characters and   Text.

5. Limited bandwidth 

6. Small screens of most devices still limit types of file and   data transfer.

7. WAP and SMS limited to small number of characters and  text. 

8. Cost of establishing mobile and wireless broadband   Infrastructure. 

M-Commerce is also said as next generation E-Commerce.

It is firing up its importance especially in the field of Retail Industry. This is becoming a new and the latest way of connecting with customers.

This is evidenced by the fact that mobile devices account for more than a quarter of online shopping and mostly on festive seasons like Christmas or New Year. Through M-Commerce you can easily select various categories and sub-categories.There is also an option of searching for the latest offers at restaurants, spas, and other entertainment places which are nearby or far.
M-Commerce takes place through various mobile devices, mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), a Smartphone, or any upcoming mobile equipment like Desktop Mobile Devices.

Various Services provided by M-Commerce are:-
1) Financial Services like mobile banking or brokerage service.
2)Retail Service
3)Informative Service
4)Location Based Services like local discount , offers etc
5)Mobile Marketing and Advertising
6)Auction

Mobile commerce: Attributes and Benefits

·         Specific attributes of m-commerce (Mobility, Broad reach)

·         Benefits of value-added attributes (Ubiquity, Convenience, Instant connectivity, Personalization, Localization of products and services)

–        Mobility—users carry cell phones or other mobile devices

–        Broad reach—people can be reached at any time

–        Ubiquity—easier information access in real-time

–        Convenience—devices that store data and have Internet, intranet, extranet connections

–        Instant connectivity—easy and quick connection to Internet, intranets, other mobile devices, databases

–        Personalization—preparation of information for individual consumers

–        Localization of products and services—knowing where the user is located at any given time and match service to them

M-commerce: generations

Ø  1G (Analog network): The first generation of wireless technology, which was analog

based

Ø  2G (Digital network): The second generation of digital wireless technology;

accommodates mainly text

Ø  2.5G (GPRS): Interim wireless technology that can accommodate limited graphics

Ø  3G (Broadband network): The third generation of digital wireless technology;

supports rich media such as video clips

Ø  4G: The expected next generation of wireless technology

M-Commerce is also said as next generation E-Commerce.

It is firing up its importance especially in the field of Retail Industry. This is becoming a new and the latest way of connecting with customers.

This is evidenced by the fact that mobile devices account for more than a quarter of online shopping and mostly on festive seasons like Christmas or New Year. Through M-Commerce you can easily select various categories and sub-categories.There is also an option of searching for the latest offers at restaurants, spas, and other entertainment places which are nearby or far.
M-Commerce takes place through various mobile devices, mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), a Smartphone, or any upcoming mobile equipment like Desktop Mobile Devices.

Various Services provided by M-Commerce are:-
1) Financial Services like mobile banking or brokerage service.
2)Retail Service
3)Informative Service
4)Location Based Services like local discount , offers etc
5)Mobile Marketing and Advertising
6)Auction

Mobile commerce: Attributes and Benefits

·         Specific attributes of m-commerce (Mobility, Broad reach)

·         Benefits of value-added attributes (Ubiquity, Convenience, Instant connectivity, Personalization, Localization of products and services)

–        Mobility—users carry cell phones or other mobile devices

–        Broad reach—people can be reached at any time

–        Ubiquity—easier information access in real-time

–        Convenience—devices that store data and have Internet, intranet, extranet connections

–        Instant connectivity—easy and quick connection to Internet, intranets, other mobile devices, databases

–        Personalization—preparation of information for individual consumers

–        Localization of products and services—knowing where the user is located at any given time and match service to them

M-commerce: generations

Ø  1G (Analog network): The first generation of wireless technology, which was analog

based

Ø  2G (Digital network): The second generation of digital wireless technology;

accommodates mainly text

Ø  2.5G (GPRS): Interim wireless technology that can accommodate limited graphics

Ø  3G (Broadband network): The third generation of digital wireless technology;

supports rich media such as video clips

Ø  4G: The expected next generation of wireless technology

M-commerce: applications

1.      Emerging applications

·         Be classified as mobile financial services, mobile advertising, mobile shopping, mobile entertainment, mobile office, mobile inventory management, mobile education, mobile telematics, and mobile information management. Within these classifications, various services may be identified, for example, mobile financial services includes services such as mobile banking, mobile broking, mobile cash, mobile payment, mobile e-billing and mobile e-salary. Mobile shopping would involve services such as mobile retailing, mobile auctions, mobile ticketing, mobile reservations and even mobile postcards.

·         There are potentially an unlimited number of mobile commerce applications, a few important classes of applications are identified and some examples within each class are provided as shown in Table 1.

2.      Functional platform of m-commerce applications

·         There are many ways mobile devices are used to conduct business and exchange information.  The emerging unlimited number of potential mobile commerce applications   can be classified into the following five platforms set out in table 2.

3.       Impact of wireless infrastructure failures on m-commerce applications.

·         Different transactions may require very different types and number of network components  . For example, mobile auctions may need multicast, location, and authentication servers, while mobile advertising could just use a location database. Therefore, failures of different network components would affect mobile commerce transactions differently.

4.      Scenarios for m-commerce applications

·         Mobile financial applications (MFA): Mobile financial applications are likely to be one of the most important components of m-commerce. These could involve a variety of applications such as mobile banking and brokerage service, mobile money transfer, and mobile micro-payments.

o    Wireless Electronic Payment Systems

– Wireless Wallets

o   m-wallet (mobile wallet)

Technologies that enable cardholders to make purchases with a single click from their wireless device

o    Wireless Bill Payments

– A number of companies now provide the option of paying bills directly from a cell phone

o   E-bills: This includes mobile vouchers, mobile coupons to be redeemed and even loyalty points or cards system.

• mBanking -  account management, account alerts, check account deposit, transfer funds, customer service via text etc.
• mPayments -  Most of the major brands are building mobile-specific apps to serve their clients for example   Companies like Firethorn, Sybase 365, Monitise, Digby, Kony Solutions, Pay Pal, Vaultus, VivoTech, PayPal and WorkLight etc,  purchase goods and services, pay a bill using a phone, ticketing.
• mVouchers -  coupons and gift cards,  mobile vouchers.
• mRemittance - Mobile commerce also allows airtime on phone, money transfer between people and organizations.  Airtime transfer becomes a token for money transfer. For eg Companies like Sybase 365, P2P Cash, Obopay, Bling Nation.

·         Mobile advertising: Mobile advertising is also a very important class of m-commerce applications. Using demographic information collected by wireless service providers and information on the current location of mobile users, very targeted advertising can be done.

o   Targeted Advertising

– Marketers send user-specific advertising messages to wireless devices

– Location-sensitive advertising informs buyers about shops, malls, and restaurants close to where the mobile device owner is located

o   mobile portal

A customer interaction channel that aggregates content and services for mobile users

·         Mobile inventory management (MIM): This class of applications involves location tracking of goods, services, and possibly even people. The tracking of goods may help service providers in determining the time of delivery to customer, thus improving customer service and obtaining a competitive edge over other businesses.  

·         Product location and search (PLS): This class of applications includes locating an item in a particular area or location, which concerns with finding an item (or person) with certain specifications, and whether it is available in a specified area or not.

·         Proactive service management (PSM): This class of applications is based on collecting pertinent information about current or near-future user needs and providing services to users proactively. One such application may involve collecting information about the aging components of an automobile. Information transmission on aging automobile components to dealers

·         Wireless business re-engineering: Many insurance business situations involve going to customers premises, taking notes of a particular situation, going back to the office, and then taking suitable actions. This process takes a long time and is not very efficient. To improve this business practice, a wireless business re-engineering application can be used which allows on-the-spot claim adjustment.

·         Mobile auction, entertainment and other services: With an increasingly mobile society, more and more people are on the move. While mobile, people may prefer to be involved in some business or entertainment activities. Many of these services can be offered to people through mobile devices and wireless networks. These include mobile auction/reverse auction, video-on-demand services, and other entertainment-oriented services.

·         Mobile Banking: Using a mobile website or application to perform all your banking functions. It is one step ahead of online banking and has become commonplace these days. For example, in Nigeria, the majority of banking transactions happen on mobile phones.

·         Mobile Ticketing and Booking: Making bookings and receiving your tickets on the mobile. The digital ticket or boarding pass is sent directly to your phone after you make the payment from it. Even in India now IRTC and other services provide m-ticketing services.

·         Stock Market Reports and even stock market trading over mobile applications.

M-commerce: benefits

·         Surely, running a mobile app for ecommerce can’t be the sole guarantee of profit. This is a great additional value tool to engage customers and offer experiences. Any amount of investment to make an app, if done wisely, will be justified by loyal customers. Also, check your competition – if they have app, you should probably too.

·         Now we are going to name main advantages of m-commerce, with few practical examples.

1.       Faster purchases

·         Yes, many sites have mobile versions, though apps are generally 1.5 times faster when loading data and search results on mobile devices. Moreover, there is no need to pull data from a server and so customers can browse and purchase products faster. As mobile ecommerce apps offer same functionality as desktop apps, people may purchase items directly within an app.

·         M-commerce revenue has been rising at 30-40% rate annually since 2014, and by the end of 2017 is expected to reach $150b total. The biggest retail app Amazon increased number of customers from 43 million in 2015 to 67 million in 2016. The reason for such achievements is intuitive mobile browsing, which in turn drives sales up.

o   The effect: positive customer experience, easy and repeat purchases, increased sales.

2.       Better customer experience

·         Because it matters. People are well familiar with how smartphones and tablets work, so they already know how to navigate to desired products in few clicks. In addition to purchases, customers can share their joy of bought goods with friends, or ask for advice from community of shopaholics. Smooth customer experience equals better conversion rates and revenue.

·         To reach these goals, your online shopping app should be:

o   Fast

o   Convenient

o   Interactive

o   Exclusive

·         From a customer standpoint, the biggest benefit is simplicity and speed. The easier overall  buying process on the app is, the more sales it brings. Add to that exclusive features (notifications, discounts, etc.), payments and other branded elements and you’ll have happy customers. By the way, 83% of customers used smartphones inside real stores to shop, according to MarketingLand.

o   The effect: convenient shopping, interactivity and ease, improved customer retention.

3.       Direct connection to customers (push notifications)

·         This is something that is impossible with a website. Of course, one may send email messages about new products or seasonal sales, but that channel loses badly to direct customer notifications via mobile app. Push notifications are both instant and unobtrusive at the same time, that’s a truly nice option for businesses. And one of the major reasons to have a brand ecommerce app.

·         Shoppers get such alerts when they open a mobile app, and may get them even without activating an app. 50% of users like notifications, and 80% of users say offers and rewards make them more loyal to a brand. This is personal communication, if you look at it from another angle, store to customer directly. Most of people perceive informing about news or discounts as care, and they want exclusive stuff.

o   The effect: direct alerts about new products, updates, discounts and promotions. Personal engagement.

4.       Tailored content

·         Based purely on individual preferences and shopping patterns with a mobile app you can deliver personalized content to customers. And they love it (if you don’t overdo it, surely). User location, interests, social media profiles, items viewed, etc. all can be utilized to bring people what they need.

·         With a mobile app you can set such preferences based on gathered customer data. An app then tracks users’ behavior and offers recommended items in real-time. In most cases, it translates into higher customer loyalty and outreach. The more specific and personal, the better. A good example here is The Amazon app. In first 2 years since launch, Amazon mobile app has served 1,000,000 customers.

o   The effect: better engagement, expanded reach, customer loyalty.

5.       Deeper analytics

·         Knowing your customers equals prosperity in business these days. Knowing customers demands data, at least very basic information like age, sex, location, shopping history. Within your mobile app you may build and set user analytics of various levels of sophistication. It depends on your business strategy and a budget available to make an app.

·         With such data you will understand your target audience much better, and will be able to increase sales. Names, phone numbers, emails, buying patterns and lots of other things in store. For instance, Walmart app that 22 million customers use every month, uses mobile data, online data and sales data combined to deliver better customer experience. It is a whole and enormous infrastructure.

o   The effect: rich customer data, shopping patterns and behavior, trends and better forecast options.

6.       Cost reduction and productivity

·         By reaching your audience faster with a mobile app you obviously cut down marketing campaign costs. If an app has social media integration, users will do their part too in spreading the word. You can even earn from placing ads within your app later on.

·         Besides, app development, maintenance and support are cheaper compared to a web store or other selling points. For instance, average app maintenance cost is 20% of initial development price. So, for an app that has costed you $50,000 you would have to spend just $10,000 annually for support. And with all customer data collected, you can boost your business up to 40%.

o   The effect: reducing costs, marketing campaigns more effective, overall business productivity.

7.       Store navigation/geolocation

·         Mobile apps have a much better competitive (technical) in regard to marketing opportunities. Front and back camera, scanning codes, positioning system for location, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope and other build-in features can be used for commercial purposes. One of the top benefits of m-commerce solutions is navigating users to nearest stores in their vicinity via GPS.

·         This shortens the time for customers to find your store and make a purchase. When a user is on vacation in Sweden let’s say, and he/she wants to visit one of the stores of famous IKEA, he can open their app and walk after route pointers. There’s even an indoor navigation in newest apps. Home Depot app (iOS/Android) has recently added store maps and aisle (!) maps, with approximately 40,000 items in each of their stores.

o   The effect: increased store visiting, more branding options, fun experiences for users.

Mobile marketing : Mobile shopping  

The beauty of online shopping apps is convenience. We can shop when we want, at home, on the go or in the store. This is a whole different buyer-seller dynamic than it used to be few years back. This also gave birth to customer empowerment – we need pleasant shopping via mobile devices whenever we choose. In brief, customers benefit from mobile commerce in such ways:

·         Smart and trendy shopping models

·         Faster buying process

·         The power of social media

·         Tracking shipments

By smart shopping we mean brands and retailers providing relevant content to users based on their shopping preferences. Customers love getting special deals, coupons and promotions through mobile apps. With push notifications they get information in real-time, for example alerts about products in wait become available. Apps also can assist in making purchases at physical stores (product preview, prices, mobile payments). Instead of getting to a store and stand in line, with a mobile app we can buy faster and easier. Plus, various studies indicate that today’s shoppers like to browse products online prior to going to the store. A website is good, for sure, but mobile apps are better tailored for mobile devices. Besides, apps can be updated anytime. All this means that shopping ecommerce apps are comfy. Apps also encourage sharing on social media, and people love sharing new amazing purchases with the world. Ecommerce apps integrate social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest to offer such option. Moreover, Facebook and Twitter have already added Buy buttons within posts and pages. SM marketing strategies always have something new and exciting to put forward.

And one final thing to top it all off is nearest store location. With this feature leveraging GPS technology and installed in a shopping app customers can find and navigate to any store.

Must-have features of retail apps

Taking a closer look at best ecommerce apps like Amazon, Amazon Shopping, Wish, eBay, Walmart, Groupon, OfferUp, Wanelo etc., we can see which features are essential. For business it is not enough just to have an ecommerce mobile app, it has to be up-to-date with the market and user expectations.

These are key features for any shopping app.

Feature	Description
Notifications	To send instant alerts about news, sales, promotions, events directly to app users in real-time.
Purchase options	Checkout carts, buy buttons, add-to-cart buttons, credit card/mobile payment gateways integration, validation/security  tools.
Product availability	Accurate synchronization between an app and inventory, out-of-stock and back-in-stock alerts, quantities in stock, etc.
Personalization	Product suggestions based on individual preferences, buying habits, purchase history. Customer data collection on the back-end.
Social media	For easy registration/login, sharing and commenting options, check-ins at stores, discovering news and special sales.
Analytics	Data on customer behavior and buying patterns, conversion rates, cart abandonment rates, returning customers, session duration, cost per conversion, etc.

In addition, a simple interface and navigation throughout the app. Intuitive and uncluttered flow starting from authorization to checkout gives your ecommerce mobile app a clear competitive edge.

Latest trends in mobile commerce also suggest the following:

·         A chat

·         Voice search

·         VR and AR elements

·         Bots / digital assistants

·         Integrated payments

·         Predictive search