Along with the evolution of mobile technologies, it is extremely important for organisations to develop an m-commerce strategy in order to keep up with competitors and have a more personal relationship with the customers. This blog will talk about current developments in m-commerce and identify ways in which businesses are using it.

According to an IMRG report from February 2015, visits from phones or tablets to e-commerce sites accounted for 45% of all traffic in the UK (IMRG, 2015). Despite the share of retailers using m-commerce doubling since 2013, 17% of all online retailers in the UK still do not have an m-commerce platform (VoucherCodes, 2015). By not using m-commerce, retailers are missing out on approximately £6.6 billion by not going mobile. It is a crucial step that organisations need to consider taking.

Here are two developments that are currently taking place within M-Commerce:

1. Mobile Wallets
2. One Click Service

A mobile wallet is the use of your phone as a debit card in order to pay for transactions generally less than £30. Thanks to “contactless payments”, the need for a wallet can be demolished, as your phone will be able to pay for most things instead (The Telegraph, 2014). Visa and most recently Apple Pay has created this service to create shorter transaction times for customers while they’re shopping. Although this is for shopping offline, it is a very technological development that could see the use of m-commerce increasing because of it.

With technologies such as the finger print service on the Apple iPhone, Amazon have made it easier for customers to log-in and purchase their items using the ‘one click’ service by simply placing their finger on the button. The ‘one click’ service is for customers that have previously entered their card and delivery details and can skip the shopping basket and confirmation stage and instead purchase their item straight away, with just a click (Amazon, 2015).

It is important for customers to ensure their m-commerce platform is easy to use and has good navigation. According to the theory of innovation diffusion (Rogers, 1995) there are four determinants of technology adoption;

1. Relative advantage
2. Complexity
3. Compatibility
4. Observability

This theory has been used in prior research to explain IT adoption in general (Karahanna et al., 1999) and m-commerce adoption in particular (Wu and
Wang, 2005). Along with social and individual factors, companies must consider at least 3 of the 4 determinants to ensure their m-commerce platform is a success. Companies such as ASOS and Uber have successfully implemented the points above to create a user-friendly easy to use m-commerce platform.

Online retail store ASOS allows customers to browse products, view catwalk videos and search items in different categories both on their website and on their m-commerce platform. With constant improvements to their app, ASOS has mastered how to use m-commerce to their advantage and has achieved their goals of “giving customers as much insight as possible before making a purchase” (Mobile Commerce Daily, 2014). The app is refreshed at the same time as the website and is compatible with all smartphones.

Uber, the app that connects taxi drivers to customers, has successfully used m-commerce to allow customers to book a taxi and pay online at their own convenience. Although it is only situated in main cities around the world, Uber allows customers to book different types of transportation, know the set price for their journey and also see reviews and feedback of their driver, and also pay by card. All four factors contribute to the level of trust the customer has for the driver and the service.

According to Statista (2016), 42.4 million people use a smartphone in the UK; this is almost 2/3’s of the country. Looking at these facts companies would be silly to not create a mobile commerce platform for their business. By using the innovation diffusion theory, companies can have a starting point which allows them to cover the four main points of creating their m-commerce platform.

References:

Amazon. (2015). About 1-Click Ordering. Available: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=502542. Last accessed 2nd May 2016

Johnson, L. (2014). ASOS supports US expansion with new commerce-enabled app. Available: http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/asos-supports-us-expansion-with-new-commerce-enabled-app. Last accessed 2nd May 2016

Karahanna, E., Straub, D.W. and Chervary, N.L. (1999), “Information technology adoption across time: a cross-sectional comparison of pre-adoption and post-adoption beliefs”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 183-213

Ratcliff, C. (2015). 50+ fascinating stats about mobile commerce in the UK: 2015. Available: https://econsultancy.com/blog/66543-50-fascinating-stats-about-mobile-commerce-in-the-uk-2015/. Last accessed 2nd May 2016

Rogers, E.M. (1995), The Diffusion of Innovations, 4th ed., The Free Press, New York, NY. Taylor, S. and Todd, P.A. (1995), “Understanding information technology usage: a test of competing models”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 144-76.

Statista. (2016). Number of smartphone users in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2011 to 2018 (in millions). Available: http://www.statista.com/statistics/270821/smartphone-user-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/. Last accessed 2nd May 2016.

Winch, J. (2014). How your mobile is about to replace your wallet.Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/bank-accounts/10693575/How-your-mobile-is-about-to-replace-your-wallet.html. Last accessed 2nd May 2016

Wu, J.H. and Wang, S.C. (2005), “What drives mobile commerce? An empirical evaluation of the revised technology acceptance model”, Information & Management, Vol. 42 No. 5, pp. 719-29.