Browsers Beat Out Apps for M-Commerce – eMarketer

Browsers Beat Out Apps for M-Commerce – eMarketer.

JANUARY 24, 2012 

Tablet shopping on the rise as frequency of use grows

Apps aren’t always the answer to engaging with consumers on mobile devices—especially when it comes to m-commerce. According to research from rich media company Zmags, very few Americans prefer to use mobile apps for shopping activities. Instead, consumers strongly prefer purchasing through web and mobile browsers.

When Zmags surveyed US consumers who owned a PC or laptop computer about their shopping methods, 87% said they preferred using websites and mobile sites, compared to 14% who most liked shopping from websites via smartphone and just 4% who preferred to shop using mobile or tablet apps.

Although smartphone and tablet owners display a preference for browser-based mobile purchases, a significant number of US retailers have created mobile apps that enable commerce activities. Survey data from mobile-shopping company AisleBuyer showed in December 2011 that 19% of US retailers had a mobile app to connects consumers to their ecommerce site.

Retail apps may be of greater value to smartphone users, for whom the browsing experience is more limited in nature. There’s also opportunity for tablet commerce apps to provide a more catalog-style approach, giving users more interactive features.

Meanwhile, the tablet commerce category as a whole is growing significantly. According to Zmags, during the 2011 holiday shopping season, 87% of tablet owners used their device for shopping. Not only do users report better buying experiences than with smartphones, but tablet owners are using their devices frequently for m-commerce. According to Zmags, half of tablet owners are using tablets for shopping on at least a weekly basis.

eMarketer projects that m-commerce sales will grow more than fourfold over the next few years, from $6.7 billion in 2011 to $31 billion in 2015. If consumers continue to prefer browsers over mobile apps for shopping, retailers should consider investing more in mobile-optimized ecommerce sites. Moreover, marketers should consider designing engaging, tablet-specific ecommerce experiences for tablet users.

Why CMOs Will Adapt To F-Commerce In 2012? -

Why CMOs Will Adapt To F-Commerce In 2012? -.

Written by Igor Beuker on December 12th, 2011 | 13 comments

As CSO I speak to many CMOs about the opportunity to redesign their brand in the social space. And why they should adapt to Facebook Commerce in 2012. Because 800+ million people are actively waiting to be engaged and buy from their brand…

Why strategy is difficult sometimes? Unlike most CSOs, many CMOs think about the whatand not the why.

CMOs tend to chase social channels and touch points, and think they need a Facebook App or Mobile App. CSOs however, like the opportunity to re-engineer brands in a real social way…

Difficulty two is about DNA and loyalty. Why should a CSO be dedicated to re-engineer a brand in a real social way, if that brand and its CMO are not willing to invest in apartnership with its social agency?

I have seen my social agency winning pitches at leading consumer brands. Next the CMO expects us to pitch on each and every new project again?

If that is the CMOs idea of building long term mutual beneficial relationships: Sorry I’m out. Please go somewhere else and chase the channels and apps without us.

Why do I like to work with CMOs that have the power to embrace innovation and are open for disruption?

Because breaking through conventions demands disruptive thinkers. Only a great newcommercial idea can break through the conventions.

That is how great commercial ideas are invented. And great new commercial ideas will direct great new creative ideas.

Sorry, as CSO I have seen too many “great new big ideas” fail. Simply because it lacked:disruption.

Simply because it lacked: a powerful insight. Simply because the “big idea” was not fueled by a great commercial idea.

Why am I convinced that our CMOs will adapt to Facebook Commerce in 2012?

Reason one: eCommerce is already massive throughout the world. And Social Commerce will rise to $30 Billion in the US alone the next 5 years.

And $1.2 Billion is the projected size for Virtual Goods in the US for 2011.

Reason two: Facebook Commerce is much more than Apps or just Liking pages. There are 7 dimensions driving Facebook Commerce that make up the F-Commerce Ecosystem.

Here I will show you a theory and some very relevantt and actionable examples of other brands that have embraced F-Commerce…

The F-Commerce Ecosystem will show you the disruptive power and commercial idea behind F-Commerce. Click to enlarge the visual and please take your time to understand the why.

I think this picture would be interesting to share with CEOs, CMOs, CFOs and especially Procurement Managers that tend to make their social agency pitch again and again.

Or other brand stakeholders that do not see the commercial idea and are mostly extremelypenny wise, but pound foolish in the process of selecting their new social agency. Try to get the big picture first, before you take decisions.

ALF: Always Listen First. In this new social field, you might just be the rookie with no clue of the impact on your company or brand yet. Think in partnerships and mutual beneficial relationships. Not in suppliers that you can build your brand the cheapest channel or app.

Even when you have your own Facebook page already. Does this make you the expert in the field of social media?

Commerce Inside Facebook

Since 2009, retail companies have embraced Facebook Stores. Shops integrated in Facebook Pages that either re-direct to the brands online shop or support real-money shopping right on the Page.

When re-directing from a Facebook Shop to your own Online Shop, make sure to guide the UI and Customer Journey! This is where many brands make their potential buyers get lost in translation. Consumers click your Facebook Shop to buy that product.

If you do: Don’t make them land on the general homepage of your own online shop, where next the consumer needs to select his country and needs to click 7 times to find back the product he wanted to buy.

Customer journeys like that will decrease your F-Commerce conversions dramatically. And as a result you will say: We’ve tried it, but it did not work for us. So, make it smooth, make it smart, make it slick. SEE, LIKE, BUY. 

Community marketing and organic growth. I know CMOs want to move fast by launching advertising campaigns. But I will give you the Adidas Originals example below. It clearly shows why a brand needs smart community marketing to grow its Facebook fan base in an organic way. Click the visual to enlarge it…

As you have been able to see: SEE, LIKE, BUY does not start by running Facebook Ads. The most crucial part of engaging and growing your Facebook fan base in an organic (and thus much cheaper) way starts with creating and posting great content. And with a CRM driven approach: loyal fans, brand advocates and their friends.

So before you even start to chase the Facebook channel, are you the man with the plan, my dear CMO?

Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories. Relax; did you really think I would skip the advertising opportunity to grow your number of fans and Facebook transactions?

Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories are advertising options; messages appear in the Sidebar and in the News Feed. You can use Facebook ads when your community marketers or community managers have mastered the social interactions with your fans. But think about growing your fan base organic first!

Facebook ads can be extremely smart and targeted. You can target them on very specific demographics. But also on psychographics and even on passions of people.

So you can now finally connect to the right passionate people at once. Ask your social agency how this could drive your brand and business objectives (BoBo).

Facebook Credits . Facebook Credits is Facebook’s virtual currency. It’s redeemable for digital goods (gifts, games, movies and paid apps) and virtual goods inside games (extra levels, lives, character enhancements).

Brands have many opportunities to use Facebook credits to pull consumers gently through their funnel towards awareness, trial, loyalty and advocacy. On any possible screen. Ask your social agency for smart ideas, once you have mastered these steps above.

Understand that social games company Zynga (creator of FarmVille) sells 38,000 virtual items every second, this stuff is pretty popular with your consumers already. Even when you might think: I hate gaming or do not even know what Farmville is…

In 2010, Zynga’s virtual goods revenues hit $575 Million. The virtual goods industry is expected to total 1.2 Billion this year in the US alone.

Facebook’s Gift Cards can be purchased online or in supermarket checkout aisles, or can even be earned as loyalty incentives. When you launch your mobile app, your consumers can even earn rewards points for store check-ins, similar to Foursquare.

So Gift Cards can help you to drive your brand and business objectives. And maybe more important in the long run: it can make your brand more entertaining, relevant, innovative and beloved.

So if you want a love brand strategy, think beyond product advertising and get your trueconsumer insights from your social agency.

Facebook Mobile & Open Graph Facebook Commerce

Please do not get scared by terminology below. I’m not trying to win the bullshit bingo by throwing in fancy techy names.

Your consumers have massively embraced their mobile phone. Mobile is the next gateway for brands, communities and commerce. Maybe not for you yet, but certainly for many of your targets.

The Facebook Mobile Platform and Facebook’s mobile apps, allow status updates on-the-go that push to Notifications, Requests, Timeline and News Feed, which may be shopping related.

So when implementing your social and Facebook strategy, think about mobile being your next gateway. And think about SoLoMo: Social, Local and Mobile.

Facebook Open Graph Beta might seem scary stuff as well. It’s not. It can help CMOs to drive their brand and business objectives even to the next level.

Open Graph 2.0 will move beyond the Like, Share and Recommend buttons to incorporate a new set of “verbs and nouns” like “I Like,” “I Want,” or “I Bought.” These actions can be pushed through Timeline, Newsfeed and Ticker.

All smart new ways that you might not yet fully understand yet. But how could you? But yourcompetitors that are accompanied by a smart social agency will certainly embrace this pretty soon. So is your brand guide stating that your brand is a true leader or a follower?

There is also Facebook Connect and its many eCommerce applications. And Facebook offers Social Plugins that allow users to perform Facebook functions on your site. Think “Like,” “Share” and “Recommend” buttons, fan widgets and comment boxes.

Facebook Places and Location Tab. How about your oportunities to adapt to Social Gaming, Social CRM and Social TV? Will you coin those social trends in 2012 or will you leave it up to others?

Facebook is connecting and processing more data. This data can be integrated online and in-store via the mobile experience. Another use for location info is Ticketmaster’s Interactive Seat Map, which lets you locate where your friends are sitting in a theater.

And this will be used by airlines as well in the business class my dear CMOs. The next time your PA books you a business seat for your next flight, she might be able to put you in a seat next to a fellow CMO – based on your LinkedIn data, that will be included in the booking engine.

We have heard that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is planning Social Seating. So don’t be surprised that in 2012 – KLM passengers will be able to link their Facebook and Linkedin profiles before they book and buy a seat they check into. A bit like flight dating…

Maybe you will now understand my SEE, LIKE, BUY one-liner for Facebook Commerce better? I mashed-up Schiphol Airport’s tagline: SEE, BUY, FLY.

So when will you seize your opportunities to make your brand and business go fully socially overboard? Opportunities are all offered today!

Thank you Janice Diner for sharing your inspirational presentations on your Slideshare channel. Thank you Linda Bustos from GetElastic for sharing your insights. Sharing is caring.

Canoë – Techno-Sciences – Une banque lance une appli de paiements sur Facebook

Canoë – Techno-Sciences – Une banque lance une appli de paiements sur Facebook.

©Facebook.com

La Commonwealth Bank prévoit de «révolutionner» le paiement mobile en Australie avec une nouvelle appli baptisée Kaching combinant NFC, paiements en P2P et «paiements sociaux» via Facebook.

Le nom de «Kaching» évoque le son d’un tiroir caisse, et le service sera l’appli de paiement la plus complète lancée par une institution bancaire.

Selon un porte-parole de la Commonwealth Bank contacté par Relaxnews, «Kaching est la première appli de services bancaires en ligne au monde à fusionner paiements par réseau social, peer-to-peer et NFC (communication en champ proche). C’est ce trio de technologies qui permet à cette appli de se démarquer et d’offrir à notre clientèle les avantages du service clients au travers d’améliorations et d’innovations. La possibilité de payer un ami sur Facebook constitue également une première mondiale».

Les utilisateurs de Kaching pourront faire des paiements jusqu’à 100$ à leurs contacts téléphoniques, e-mail et Facebook.

“Selon le type de paiement, la transaction aura lieu soit instantanément, soit après la réception d’un code unique par le destinataire, qui pourra ainsi accéder à la somme en ligne au moment qui l’arrange”, explique le porte parole de la Commonwealth Bank. “Pour Facebook, une notification sera envoyée au destinataire pour l’informer qu’il a reçu le paiement, et le code est nécessaire pour toucher l’argent”.

Les paiements en P2P et en NFC commencent à décoller aux Etats-Unis suite au lancement de Google Wallet et à l’ascension de startups comme Square.

L’Australie est le deuxième pays au monde en termes de smartphones par habitant, derrière Singapour, mais les technologies de paiements mobiles ne s’y sont pas encore banalisées.

Les banques se montrent traditionnellement frileuses à l’idée de développer les services de paiements mobiles et la plupart des consommateurs ne sont pas au courant qu’ils existent, mais avec le cachet de l’une des quatre grandes banques australiennes, les Australiens devraient s’y mettre rapidement.

«Les paiements mobiles et en ligne constituent la prochaine étape des technologies de transactions financières. Plus de la moitié de nos 10 millions de clients possède déjà un smartphone, et les Australiens ont 65% de chances en plus que les Britanniques d’employer leurs téléphones pour des services bancaires», d’après David Lindberg de la Commonwealth Bank, dans un communiqué du 25 octobre.

«Pour la première fois, les Australiens n’auront plus besoin de compter sur les espèces et les chèques cadeaux pour donner de l’argent à leurs familles, amis, ou même à des entreprises. L’explosion récente de l’adoption de smartphones et autres technologies numériques a révolutionné la façon dont nous menons tous nos transactions, dont nous interagissons et communiquons entre-nous, et cette nouvelle appli fera du rêve de paiements mobiles une réalité», poursuit David Lindberg.

D’après la banque, jusqu’à 50% des mobiles seront équipés du NFC d’ici 2014, et ceux-ci généreront «jusqu’à $50 milliards en transactions mobiles à travers le monde».

L’appli Kaching sera lancée sur iPhone au cours des prochains mois.

Commonwealthbank se prépare également à lancer un étui smartphone iCarte intégrant le NFC, mais son prix reste à déterminer, d’après un porte parole de la banque.

Une version Android de l’appli Kaching est prévue pour 2012.

Unilever Joins F-Commerce Party: Dove Facebook Store [Images] | Social Commerce Today

Unilever Joins F-Commerce Party: Dove Facebook Store [Images] | Social Commerce Today.

Consumer brand giant Unilever has joined the f-commerce party, launching a storefront on Facebook for it’s Dove brand.  Taking a leaf from the (Face)book of its arch rival P&G, Unilever has teamed up with Amazon for payments and logistics.  Smart move for a brand manufacturer with little retail experience.  And to assuage concerns of any retailers thinking Unilever might be about to to cut them out of the picture by selling direct, the store is Amazon branded, selling Dove products already available on Amazon.

The Dove Facebook store features a wondrously attractive shopping cart, and then checkout is redirected to Amazon.  Whilst only a storefront, the layout and shopping cart raise the bar for f-commerce user experience.  A nice touch is the product summary with a ‘read more’ link that reveals more product blurb, keeping the feel of the store clean and uncluttered. Another nice touch is that the store features user reviews, and allows users to post new reviews.

Differentiating the Unilever store from other f-commerce stores is the fact that it appears to have been built ground-up as an international store – allowing users to select country (UK, US, Turkey, Mexico, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Argentina) and language (although only the US appears hooked up to Amazon right now).  The shape of things to come?

Rather than list all Unilever brands, the Dove store sells only Dove (P&G’s Pampers store sells all P&G products), and not all Dove products at that.  This, we think is smart, allowing Unilever to offer followers exclusive deals for new products as – and ideally, before – they get into stores to stimulate word of mouth demand. As we saw yesterday, with the LivingSocial Amazon deal, social commerce works best when you offer something worth talking about – i.e. something new, something unique and something exclusive.  Only by being remarkable in Facebook are retailers likely to benefit from the viral potential the network has to offer.  Our view is that f-commerce will work best when it is a platform for live event shopping.  Think TV shopping, rather than e-commerce sites – and you’ll be on the right track.

Unilever might be a late entrant into the social commerce game – compared to pioneer P&G, but it appears to be learning from the experience of others.  That’s called social intelligence, and that’s what social commerce is all about.

F-commerce – is it here to stay? | Social media agency London | FreshNetworks blog

F-commerce – is it here to stay? | Social media agency London | FreshNetworks blog.

F-commerce (commerce through Facebook)  is not just a buzzword; stores are opening up daily and Payvment, a third-party Facebook comments platform, boasts in excess of 60,000 stores using its features.

Starbucks is using Facebook for its loyalty card scheme, Coca-Cola uses it to sell branded merchandise and GameStop, one of the biggest video game retailers in the world, has just opened a full-range shop on Facebook called The GameStop Shop.

Despite generally lagging behind when it comes to embracing new Facebook features, the UK is starting to see some f-commerce traction. Perhaps the best known example is digital fashion powerhouse, ASOS, who have their own Facebook shop. But what are the real opportunities behind F-commerce for brands and businesses here in the UK?

F-commerce enables smaller brands and businesses to set up a secure shop without the hassle of owning and setting up their own e-commerce store. Challenger brands will seek digital market share from e-commerce giants by opening up shop on Facebook. Larger brands can use Facebook as an alternative engagement platform to their main e-commerce site or as a way of selling different or targeted merchandise.

The key to f-commerce success will, of course, remain in users purchasing from stores in sufficient quantity to justify investment. This does not appear to be an issue. A March 2011 WebTrends report suggests that Facebook conversion rates range from 2-4% – this doesn’t sound much but it’s pretty much on par with e-commerce stores. The nascent industry will rely on customer trust in the Facebook platform, ease of use, social buying and going straight from a Facebook advert or a friend’s recommendation to purchasing an eye-catching product – a new social take on impulse/checkout purchases.

It’s time for brands who want to, or can sell to consumers to consider how f-commerce fits into their business model. If it’s suitable for their business, it may be worth entering the market while it’s still young.

Jeff Bullas: F-Commerce: Is Facebook The New Shop Of The Future?

via www.jeffbullas.com/2011/03/07/f-commerce-is-facebook-the-new-shop-of-the-future/.

I have loved reading since I learned the skill at a place called school. I remember hiding under the blankets with my bedside lamp reading books about tropical island adventures and pirates as soon as the coast was clear  after my parents inflicted the “lights out time” every night at the prescribed hour.

To enhance my reading choices but now without the curfew, I have just purchased a Kindle (which is the dedicated e-reader from Amazon) to provide easy instant access to books without waiting for the package to arrive several days later from my favorite online book store.

One thing I have noticed is the low friction functionality that it provides that enables you to buy a book that arrives in 30 seconds with a few clicks of the Kindle’s button with my embedded payment details already in its settings. This highlights the challenges that are being experienced by traditional book stores such as Borders and others who are closing their doors or fighting for survival in a world where many business models are being disrupted and torn apart.

The Challenge

This challenge applies to the other traditional bricks and mortar stores who if they thought that life was going to get any easier after the GFC (Great Financial Crisis) of 2008 then they need to think again. Not only are they having to compete with online stores on the other side of the world and local competitors just around the corner but there is a new retailer on the block which I shall call F-Commerce (which you no  doubt have already worked out what that means) and that is the Facebook store where you can buy online without  leaving Facebook’s ecosystem.

Brands such as fashion stores have been using Facebook for a while now to

• Engage with their fans
• Run surveys
• Announce and run competitions
• Offer specials
• Provide coupons you can print off for a “like” action
• Display their goods on Facebook with high definition PDF’s, images and online videos

All these activities could be categorized under what has been a popular pastime for many for generations which is “window shopping”.

Facebook has proven to be a great social media channel to market your product which allows an update (whether that is a new special or opportunity to save money) to a brands Facebook page to appear in the Facebook stream of tens of thousands of  its fans that have “liked” the companies “Page”

An example of this are companies such as “Vintage Marketplace” and “Grand Social” where you can browse but have to leave to go to their on line store to make a purchase

The game is changing!…and it has major implications for retailers and how they continue to market and sell their products and there are now applications that are getting closer to the  ”social business nirvana”  of being able to to have stores within Facebook that keep you totally within Facebook’s ecosystem.

Stores that are heading towards this social business Facebook nirvana are stores such asBaby and Me Gifts which has its Facebook page powered by BigCommerce which is the same software that runs their e-commerce store.

• It displays her inventory on her Facebook page at no extra cost
• Users are then directed to the main site to complete their purchase

This integration with Facebook provides approximately 50% of their online sales and is proving to be as effective as e-mail marketing!

It is early days with F-commerce but there are others such as Live Scribe that use another type of software to achieve a similar Facebook integration with the app system, Storefront Social

More online stores such as Ettitude, which sells products which have a low impact on mother earth, are realizing the power of integrating more deeply into the Facebook ecosystem with its power to leverage your brand and sales through customers sharing their shopping experiences with their friends.

Procter & Gamble dropped an e-commerce application in a “Shop Now” tab on its 200,000-fan-strong fan page. Within an hour, it sold out of the 1,000 Cruiser diaper packs it was offering at $9.99 a pop. The Pampers’ Facebook sales app used Ohio-based digital agency Resource Interactive’s Off the Wall e-commerce technology, which retailer The Limited also used to sell scarves during the holidays.

How You Can Integrate Your Online Store With Facebook

• Facebook contests that request “Likes” can automatically send users to the Facebook store to encourage product browsing.
• Businesses can post ads, promotions, flash sales, or product-focused press to their Wall and link to the Facebook store’s PDP pages, enabling quick purchasing ability within the social network.
• By leveraging the Facebook Fans API, brands are empowered to combine “deals of the day” or product announcements with deep links to product detail and purchase pages within the Facebook store. This approach gives the user fast transaction capabilities, while also helping the brand collect the user’s data and demographic details.
• Facebook is currently testing a “Buy With Friends” program, which allows brands to offer discount incentives to users who encourage their friends to buy the same item by publishing purchases on friends’ news feeds.

The goal of these stores is to not only leverage their social business but reduce the friction for people to buy their products and services in places where they like to hang out. It’s about going to where your customers are (600 million of them) rather than making them come to you.

The F-commerce revolution has arrived and it will produce new business models that will challenge the traditional way of doing business and there will be collateral damage and mass extinctions. Your challenge is not to be a statistic.