Synopsis

Based on the growth of internet and mobile users alone, it is hardly any wonder that e-commerce and m-commerce are thriving. The Asia Pacific region, in particular, is considered a key area for future growth. New communication and software developments are making it increasingly possible for retailers to offer a seamless shopping experience using all the available shopping channels – mobile devices, computers, bricks-and-mortar, television, radio, direct mail, catalogues, and so on.

In our existing climate of digital interaction, the concept of a ‘Sharing Economy’ is gaining momentum and this market is now maturing. New developments are following in the footsteps of those entrepreneurs who created sites where people share their houses and car spaces. We are now increasingly seeing sites aimed at people who need people for odd jobs, at short notice. Uber was perhaps the first on the scene here. It is still operating in a narrow market (taxies), but other companies are entering the much broader job market.

Mobile shopping is one of the hottest topics, and the m-commerce market is growing at a staggering rate. While this boom will of course taper off eventually, m-commerce will remain one of the leading growth areas for some years, driven by the younger generation and its mobile-centric lifestyle. With consumers relying more and more on their smartphones when shopping online, m-commerce will continue to grow faster than overall e-commerce, therefore accounting for an ever-increasing portion of the e-commerce market.

The enormous success of m-commerce is linked to apps, which are becoming more and more popular. Apps are convenient, safe, quick, and simple to use. In the global m-commerce market, shoppers are already using apps in preference to browsers. Increasingly, commercial models will be linked to these apps – which will lead to further spectacular growth in m-commerce. BuddeComm sees the development of m-wallet apps, in particular, as a major breakthrough for the m-payment sector.

The digital economy has brought about huge changes in the publishing industry – from digital printing presses, to indie authorship, to e-books. One of the downfalls is that self-publishing has become too easy, so that the market is flooded with low quality, poorly edited books. This has given self-published e-books a bad press. The dilemma is a thorny one, with many different interests at war. In the end, the consumer must be the one to rebalance the market.

This BuddeComm Intelligence Report provides industry insights, statistics and information on the e-commerce and m-commerce sectors. The report includes selected information on the leading trends in this sector, supported by examples where available.

Key developments:

• Blockchain and Smart Contracts are developments emerging from the BitCoin platform.
• Online banking continues to grow in popularity with North American users the most prolific.
• E-commerce is booming in China, especially m-commerce, with Alibaba group firmly in the lead.
• Apple app store and Google Play are the two largest app stores in the world, with a growing Asian user base particularly from Japan, South Korea and China.
• The global indoor Location Based Service (LBS) market is rocketing.

Companies mentioned:

Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Google, Facebook, Bitcoin, Foursquare, Samsung Pay, AirBB, Uber, Walmart, Samsung, Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Visa, Sony, Baidu, Alibaba.