Going Mobile

Mobile e-commerce (m-commerce)refers to the

purchase of goods and services through wireless technology, such as cell phones and handheld

devices. It consists of two primary components: “…the ability to use a wireless phone or other

mobile device to conduct financial transactions and exchange payments over the Internet…and

the ability to deliver information that can facilitate a transaction—from making it easy for your

business to be ‘found’ via a mobile Web browser to creating mobile marketing campaigns such

as text promotions and loyalty programs.” [10] It is predicted that in 2015 m-commerce revenues

will make up 8.5 percent of all US e-commerce revenue and 20 percent of global e-commerce

revenue. In the United States, that will represent only one half of 1 percent of all retail

revenues. [11] However, even though m-commerce is lagging behind other mobile uses, wireless

devices and m-commerce are expected to create another revolution in e-commerce. The most

important thing that online retailers can do is to “…take action soon because the mobile

environment is adapting much more quickly than the web.” [12]

Small businesses need to sort out the hype from what’s real. What’s real are the facts and the

trends. [13]

1. From the second quarter 2009 through the second quarter 2010, Amazon’s customers around the world

used mobile devices to buy more than $1 billion in products. This is a trend that any small business with

an e-commerce website should watch closely.

2. Mobile devices connected to the Internet are reshaping the way people are going about their personal and

professional lives.

3. One of the fastest growth areas in e-commerce will be using mobile devices to make online purchases.

4. Close to 80 percent of organizations plan to have mobile websites by the end of 2011. Online retailers

without an m-commerce strategy will be in the minority.

5. Handheld devices are increasingly being used to research products, compare prices, and buy online while

shopping.

6. A central driver to m-commerce growth is smartphone ownership and the corresponding mobile

Internet use.

7. Nearly 58 percent of Americans have researched a product or a service online.

8. Among cell phone owners, 11 percent purchased a product or a service using their phones.