The Rise of Mobile eCommerce in Australia
The phrase, “mobile ecommerce”, or mcommerce as it is known in common parlance refers to the monetary transactions that take place through the medium of mobile phones. As it is, the ecommerce market seems to have taken over traditional forms of shopping and commercial activities. People would rather purchase goods and products online instead of going out to brick and mortar stores. The advent of the internet made it possible for people choose ecommerce as a potential replacement for traditional modes of shopping. Recently, a new trend is on the rise which has threatened to replace ordinary ecommerce as well – mobile ecommerce. With easy access to the internet, people can now simply carry out monetary transactions through their smartphones (Alqahtani & Goodwin, 2012). In Australia, like the rest of the world, the growth and boost to the ecommerce industry has largely been due to the presence of mobile phones (“m-Commerce: Mobile transactions in Australia | ACMA”, 2018). A large number of economists and theorists believe that mobile commerce is, without a doubt, the future of commerce in Australia. In the report below, a critical analysis of the case study article titled, “E-commerce marketplace in Australia: Online shopping” has been critically examined. The article is a report released in the year 2011, which studies the evolving trends in the ecommerce industry of Australia, with special emphasis on mobile commerce.
The article, at the very beginning, states that in the past few years, more than 60 per cent Australians have embraced the concept of ecommerce. In Australia, the digital economy is on the rise. For most Australians, a plethora of activities are carried out through the internet. Since most Australians are now connected to each other and to the rest of the world through the internet, they can easily carry out online transactions (which include online shopping, bill payments and online banking). The article focuses on the prevalent trend in the industry where a large number of companies are turning to social media and other online channels for commercial activities. It also highlights how online shopping or ecommerce has greater revenue outcome than traditional modes, given that more and more Australians now prefer to purchase goods online and through mobile applications. The article also highlights the importance of mobile commerce or mcommerce and focuses on bill payment and net banking as predominant activities. The authors of the article claim that the main reason why the ecommerce and mcommerce industry is booming is because people all over the world no longer mistrust the online commerce channels, as the previously did.
The article claims that most businesses in Australia are gradually incorporating internet and mcommerce as one of their significant marketing strategies in order to lure in more and more customers. These activities are usually carried out through reliable channels, which include the official websites of the companies as well. In the past few years, at least 70 per cent customers have bought products online or through their mobile phones. It has been found that a majority of customers who purchase goods online pay for the product or service online. They do so either through online money transfer services or by using their credit and debit cards. Most adults who buy services online would rather pay using these modes than opt for cash on delivery. As a matter of fact, some of the world’s largest ecommerce websites like Ebay or Amazon have launched their mobile applications. Now, buyers no longer need to login to their desktops or computers to purchase goods online. They can simply open the mobile application and carry out transactions through these applications without any hassle (Shaikh & Karjaluoto, 2015).
Mobile Commerce: The Future of Commerce in Australia
Mcommerce or mobile commerce may be explained as any kind of transaction which includes a monetary exchange through telecommunications network. Such mobile commerce applications would comprise business to business or person to person or business to customer systems. The wireless revolution around the world and the explosion of ecommerce makes it possible for companies around the world to incorporate mobile phones into their business strategies. The article paints a vivid picture of how the modes of communication and buying behaviors of customers are rapidly evolving with each passing day. Shopping and other commercial transactions are no longer restricted to fixed locations. The new technologies in the arena of smartphones have completely transformed the marketplace. The article also highlights the fact that mobile phones today have ceased to be simple devices used for communication. Instead, they are used as a mechanism for payment and commercial activities by customers today. This section attempts to present a critical review of the chosen article.
The article very meticulously manages to define mobile commerce or mcommerce. Mobile commerce, as the article suggests, it is electronic commerce and sales which is conducted through wireless electronic devices (namely, mobile phones or even tablets). The article repeatedly emphasizes that mcommerce is not separate or segregated from ecommerce. On the contrary, it is a sub category of ecommerce (Forbes, 2018). The main purpose of mobile commerce is to provide for a more holistic approach to online purchase and transactions through smaller screens. This opportunity makes it possible for customers to buy goods or pay their bills on the go. The need of the hour is to develop responsive designs and mobile friendly applications which would be beneficial for both the customers and the companies. According to the article, it is the innovations introduced in the field of mobile phones and the advent of technological advancement which has boosted the mobile commerce industry. Chong (2013) argues that more than technology, it is the increased capacity of mobile phones which has made it possible for customers to carry out such monetary transactions on the internet. In other words, technology has paved the way for development of mobile services and delivery of various kinds of content to the concerned customers through mobile phones. Accordingly, customers are also able to purchase goods online (Lu, 2014). The article also claims that a majority of Australians tend to use mobile commerce mainly for bill payments and other phone banking transactions (Aboelmaged & Gebba, 2013). On the other hand, only about three per cent customers bought goods and services through their phones. Also, the article states that as far as online shopping is concerned, more males than females indulged in mobile commerce.
However, this view must be critically reviewed. According to Yadav, Sharma and Tarhini (2016), there are quite a few factors as to why people prefer mobile commerce over ecommerce or traditional means of shopping. The growth of mobile commerce has been unprecedented in the last few years, with this industry growing twice as fast as compared to that of ecommerce. Moreover, this aspect needs to be scrutinized from the perspective of a businessman. The fundamental purpose of business is to ensure customer retention and also to bring in newer customers. Yet, if businesses continue to offer unresponsive and inappropriate online platforms to mobile users, businesses could potentially lose their clients. Businesses in Australia and around the world need to realize that customers today are extremely tech savvy and would prefer to use websites that are mobile phone compatible and only a click away. Failure to provide an ecommerce experience that is mobile phone friendly and seamless could put the company at a competitive disadvantage in the market (Ahmad & Ibrahim, 2017).
Trends in the eCommerce Industry of Australia
The article in question mainly focuses on the role of ecommerce and the growth of mobile commerce in the business sector today. However, it must be asserted that mobile commerce is extremely beneficial from a business point of view as well. Wang, Aguirre-Urreta and Song (2016) speaks about the importance of mobile ecommerce from a business owner’s perspective. As such, it is important to study the myriad benefits that implementation of mobile commerce would have for a business, irrespective of the size. Business owners need to realize most consumers around the world prefer to pay through their mobile phones (Jeong & Yoon, 2013). This could be made a lot easier if companies simply introduced a mobile application which customers could download and access through their phones and tablets. Once upon a time, the costs involved in launching an application were sky high, which prevented a large number of companies from choosing mcommerce. However, it is not so anymore. Most business owners around the globe have arrived at the conclusion that social media and mcommerce would be one of the best and most effective tools for marketing and selling their products to the niche market. Lin, Wang and Wang (2014) comment on the benefits of adopting mobile commerce for all businesses. For example, it would pave the way for faster purchases. Research has shown that mobile applications tend to be faster and more user friendly than ordinary websites. Customers no longer have to google for products and services, they can simply login to the app. As a result, the revenue outcome of companies has increased by an impressive 30 per cent in the past four years. Most of the companies today emphasize on the need for intuitive and well designed mobile applications. Supported by the amount of big data available for mobile application developers, they can develop platforms which are user friendly, customized and convenient. Moreover, users tend to prefer mobile applications which are interactive and emanate speed and simplicity. Another major benefit of mobile commerce, which the article fails to discuss, is the fact that mobile applications allow companies to directly communicate with their customers. Nirajanamurthy et al., (2013) argues that this is one of the most important advantages of mcommerce. In the case of traditional brick and mortar retail stores and even in ecommerce stores, an organization would not be able to directly communicate with the customers, which could stand in the way of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, customers could easily communicate with the companies through mobile applications. They could even speak to customer service executives through live chat, phone calls or even emails. Such easy access to the various modes of communication provides a more holistic approach to customer service.
One major aspect of mcommerce which the article fails to discuss is the issue of trust. Amin, Rezaei & Abolghasemi (2014) claim that one of the major obstacles in mcommerce is mistrust on part of the customers. Many customers are not willing to divulge their personal information or banking details online, given the increasing number of cyber crimes and cyber criminals who are ever on the prowl for such data. A large number of customers are suspicious and skeptical about the mobile commerce channels and the apparently ambiguous modes of transactions online. As a result, customers are not initially inclined towards bill payments online or ecommerce. However, with experience, they are gradually exposed to the vast world of possibilities that mcommerce holds.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be said that mobile commerce is the future of ecommerce around the globe. A large number of companies around the world are developing robust mobile applications which would enable companies to directly communicate with the customers. The article chosen for the report, “E-commerce marketplace in Australia: Online shopping” must be critically examined. The article is an all encompassing text on the various aspects of online shopping and ecommerce. It also presents a comparison of ecommerce and mcommerce, declaring the latter as a mire beneficial sub category of the former. The article studies mobile commerce and all that it entails, based on statistical evidence obtained consumers in Australia. However, the article claims that the advancement in the field of mobile phones is what triggered the growth of ecommerce. Yet, it must be argued, as shown in the report above, that more than technology it is the changing perceptions of customers that have contributed to mcommerce development. The needs of the customers are ever changing and it is becoming increasingly challenging for companies to fulfill the demands of the customers. As such, one of the best and most effective ways of marketing and selling a product would be mobile commerce platforms or mobile applications.
References:
Aboelmaged, M., & Gebba, T. R. (2013). Mobile banking adoption: an examination of technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior. International Journal of Business Research and Development, 2(1).
Ahmad, Z., & Ibrahim, R. (2017). Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce) Interface Design: A Review of Literature. IOSR Journal Of Computer Engineering, 19(03), 66-70. doi: 10.9790/0661-1903046670
Alqahtani, A. S., & Goodwin, R. (2012). E-commerce smartphone application. IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 3(8).
Amin, M., Rezaei, S., & Abolghasemi, M. (2014). User satisfaction with mobile websites: the impact of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and trust. Nankai Business Review International, 5(3), 258-274.
Forbes., (2018). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/05/25/what-is-the-difference-between-e-commerce-and-mobile-commerce/
Chong, A. Y. L. (2013). Mobile commerce usage activities: The roles of demographic and motivation variables. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 80(7), 1350-1359.
Jeong, B. K., & Yoon, T. E. (2013). An empirical investigation on consumer acceptance of mobile banking services. Business and Management Research, 2(1), 31.
Lin, J., Wang, B., Wang, N., & Lu, Y. (2014). Understanding the evolution of consumer trust in mobile commerce: a longitudinal study. Information Technology and Management, 15(1), 37-49.
Lu, J. (2014). Are personal innovativeness and social influence critical to continue with mobile commerce?. Internet Research, 24(2), pp.134-159.
M-Commerce: Mobile transactions in Australia | ACMA. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/engage-blogs/engage-blogs/Research-snapshots/m-Commerce-Mobile-transactions-in-Australia
Niranjanamurthy, M., Kavyashree, N., Jagannath, S., & Chahar, D. (2013). Analysis of e-commerce and m-commerce: advantages, limitations and security issues. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 2(6).
Shaikh, A. A., & Karjaluoto, H. (2015). Mobile banking adoption: A literature review. Telematics and Informatics, 32(1), 129-142.
Wang, Y., Aguirre-Urreta, M., & Song, J. (2016). What Affects Mobile Application Downloads? The Role of In-Store Information.
Yadav, R., Sharma, S. K., & Tarhini, A. (2016). A multi-analytical approach to understand and predict the mobile commerce adoption. Journal of enterprise information management, 29(2), 222-237.
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