Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce)
Very simply put M-commerce entails the e-commerce transactions
done with a mobile phone. So M-commerce is the use of mobile
phones to conduct any type of business transaction. It takes the help
of the e-commerce background and WAP technology.
The use of wireless technology (WAP) to conduct sales of goods,
provide services, make payments and other financial transactions, the
exchange of information etc. is the basis of mobile commerce.
M-commerce is actually a rapidly growing sector of e-commerce.
Nearly 70% of the online transactions that occur in India happen
from mobile phones. Globally it is a 700 billion dollar industry.
M-commerce is about exploiting new opportunities made available to
us thanks to e-commerce. So it involves the advent of new
technologies, services, business models and marketing strategies. It
differentiates itself in many ways from e-commerce. This is because
mobile phones have very different characteristics than desktop
computers. And it opens so many windows of opportunities for
businesses to exploit.
Applications of M-commerce
Other than the straightforward m-commerce transactions of buying
and selling of goods and services, they have so many applications.
Let us take a look at a few examples,
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.
E-bills: This includes mobile vouchers, mobile coupons to be
redeemed and even loyalty points or cards system.
Auctions: Online auctions having now been developed to be
made available via mobile phones as well.
Stock Market Reports and even stock market trading over
mobile applications.
Advantages of M-commerce
1. It creates a new marketing channel- M-commerce will help you in
creating a new marketing channel as you can easily sell your
products to end-users. Additionally, for your business m-commerce is
very beneficial as you will give all information in your mobile app and
users can easily get to know everything in just one click.
2. It provides easy store access- Mobile commerce makes it simple to
find the items accessible in the market by using wireless gadgets.
Also, you don't need to go to the store to buy your necessities,
instead, you can purchase items online. This will save you time and
reduce your efforts.
3. It results in cost reduction and productivity- M-commerce is cost-
effective as you can cut marketing campaign expenses as you can
reach your customer sooner with a mobile app. Also, it has reduced
the staff workload and has become more effective and productive
than before.
4. It benefits from traditional retail sales- Mobile commerce can
encourage you with traditional retail sales. Thus, m-commerce is
developing day by day and it will keep on advancing, putting up a
better outstanding position in the retail exchanges.
Disadvantages of M-commerce
Now, let's glance at some disadvantages of mobile commerce.
1. Absence of services in rural areas- In rural areas there is still a dearth
of availability of mobile phones and Internet connection. Even there
are people who are totally unaware of all these facilities. So, you can
think that still, mobile commerce is unknown to several people.
2. Fraud risks and security concerns- Still there are fraud risks in mobile
commerce and there are marketers who are not even prepared to
handle it. Also, the security issue is still present and there are people
who had a fear of losing their personal information.
3. Connectivity issue- If your net connection is poor then you will face an
issue and also get irritated in m-commerce. The massive obstacle for
M-commerce is the internet connection issue.
4. The habit of people- You must have heard of the people who don't
want to come out of their comfort zone or you can say that they are
not ready for the change. There are people who deny getting into
modern technology and some take too much time in adopting new
technologies.
Q: What are the differences between e-commerce and m-
commerce?
Ans: Some of the differences are as below,
Electronic commerce has a narrower reach than M-
commerce, due to a large number of mobile users globally.
E-commerce is generally a less costly method. The set up of
the website and the use of the internet is both relatively
cheaper methods. M-commerce, on the other hand, is more
expensive due to the creation of the mobile app and the need
to use cellular data (for the customers)