Mobile the future of e-commerce

With Cisco’s state of the Internet report this month finding 57 per cent of all Internet traffic is set to come from mobile devices by 2018, tech giants and brands are working hard to optimise their websites in order to target this on-the-go-consumer - but there’s still a long way to go.

Last year saw m-commerce make up 14 per cent of e-commerce, up from 9.3 per cent in 2012, according to research by Wells Fargo. But despite this jump in numbers, m-commerce still makes up only 1 to 2 per cent of all retail sales.

Summing it up during an appearance on Bloomberg TV last month, Target Corp’s interim chief executive officer John Mulligan stated, No one has really won mobile yet.”

When it comes to m-commerce, the most successful players so far are Amazon and eBay. Each command about 20 per cent of mobile sales, with Amazon just slightly beating out eBay, according to Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Nemer. eBay’s marketplace and PayPal each exceeded over $US20 billion in mobile volume.

Two brands that are causing buzz with their m-commerce developments are Uber and Domino's. Uber was established as a mobile-first transportation company in 2009 and is valued at $US18 billion, according to WWD. Domino’s has also been implementing innovative strategies in mobile to ensure the pizza chain remains relevant.