It wasn't not long ago online shopping joined the history. Now, the mobile revolution promises to repeat the same with the "anywhere experience" that boasts all about convenience. M-commerce (mobile commerce) is all about buying and selling of goods and services through wireless mobile devices such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPads etc. M–commerce is likely known as the next step of e-commerce. It enables users to access the Internet without the need of plug in.As most of the consumers use mobile devices, they will quickly grasp the benefits of using the Web to make purchases on the go. This creates a huge opportunity and new revenue stream for many e-commerce businesses.
We experience the so called m-commerce in our day-to-day activities and popular among us to a certain extend even though we have not recognized that we are dealing with it. Such as below mentioned industries:
* Financial services, which has mobile banking facility - access bank accounts to check the balance, get alerts on mobile for deposits, pay bills stock brokering services etc
* Telecommunications, bill payment and account reviews can be checked through the handheld mobile device (Ex – Dialog EZ payment facility)
* Information services, which delivers of financial news, sports updates to a mobile device (Ex – Dialog news alert service)
* Entertainment industries like cinema – You can reserve seats at cinema hall via mobile (Ex - Dialog allows this service in Sri Lanka)
M-commerce is a new trend which has lot of potential. Even IBM and other companies are already experimenting with speech recognition softwares to ensure the security of m-commerce transactions.
When it comes to the world trade, in 2010 some significant milestones were added to the history of m-commerce. Such as;
* Bargain Hunting
With applications like RedLaser users can scan product bar codes and discover best prices retailers offer.
* Mobile Ticketing
Web sites like MovieTickets.com have stepped in to the industry with mobile ticketing applications.
* Banking
With balance checking and all the banking all other banking activities has increased the number of people using mobile banking applications two folds than the last year.
* Tangible Goods
According to eBay, one item is purchased every two seconds using eBay mobile application installed in iphones, Blackberries and Androids.
* Marketing
Text message marketing is a new trend and eBay’s recent launch of their Fashion application is another great example.
M-commerce revolution is here to open the doors to a new world. And it’s the second step of E-commerce. It is obviously another trend and an industry with more potential for the next generation.
