Holiday M-Commerce: Big Days for Mobile Shopping
Not
surprisingly, Black Friday shoppers turned to their mobile devices in
record numbers last week. Cyber Monday also showed impressive increases
in the amount of shopping done via mobile.
- eBay experienced a 250% increase in the number of sales via mobile on Black Friday, while PayPal reported a whopping six-fold increase in total volume, compared to Black Friday last year.
- Findings from the National Research Foundation concluded that almost 33% of smartphone users planned to do research and price comparison on their mobile devices on Black Friday, and 13.7% planned to make purchases using their smartphones.
- On Cyber Monday, 6.6% of all online sales were made via mobile, almost triple the percentage on the same day last year.
Comviva Launches E-Wallet Service in Somalia
Global mobile solutions firm Comviva has teamed up with Somalian telecom provider NationLink
to bring its e-wallet service to under-banked and unbanked sections of
the Somalian population. Comviva's mobile financial platform offers
international inbound transfers, domestic transfers, utility bill
payments, mobile ticketing service, and the ability to top up prepaid
mobile time. The new service will allow Somalians unprecedented levels
of convenience and security in their finances, and will open the door to many
who have not previously had access to banking. This kind of innovation
again demonstrates the power of mobile to revolutionize the way people
across the globe accomplish everyday activities.
RIM to Offer Device Management for Android, iOS
BYOD has
been a hot button topic for the Dose lately. RIM is now making a move to
capitalize on its expertise in enterprise mobility management and
mobile security with "BlackBerry Mobile Fusion,"
a multi-platform device management system targeted at enterprises. This
service represents a significant step by RIM to stay current as
enterprises are increasingly moving away from BlackBerry, and as the
BYOD culture gains momentum.