Ninefold increase in online sales through m-commerce expected in coming years
Rakuten has said that it expects a ninefold increase in online sales in the coming years, driven by the spread of smartphone and tablet devices.
This follows Forrester’s prediction that m-commerce will be worth $31 billion by 2016.
Rakuten suggests that the growth of tablets will provide an especially significant opportunity for retailers.
Kenichiro Nakajima, chief mobile officer at Rakuten, said: “Our figures show that when PC users start using feature phones for online shopping, their transactions will typically increase by 1.5x, with a further 1.5x increase when they migrate to full smartphones and another jump of 1.5x when our preinstalled apps are used.
“Given the convenience and quality browsing experience delivered by tablets we would expect to see a similar level of growth driven by tablet devices.
“Mcommerce is an exciting and rapidly growing retail channel, but this must not come at the expense of the more social and service-centric elements that consumers associate with visiting shops. Retailers must build a strong presence across all channels – physical, mobile and social – to deliver a service which allows the customer to shop as they prefer.”