Mobile Payments

Q&A: Droplet on the mobile payments market

Mobile payments startup Droplet has just begun a third round of funding as it seeks to expand into new UK cities.

It is operating in a very competitive market that has already seen some of the major players try and fail to attract an audience.

How Whistles is tailoring its ecommerce site to international markets

The internationalisation of ecommerce is one of the main priorities for established brands, with foreign markets providing huge potential for business growth.

But this obviously brings with it a new range of challenges in terms of localised content, currency options and different fulfilment methods.

Luxury clothing retailer Whistles is currently just starting a process of internationalising its online store, so head of ecommerce Louise Salt knows a lot about the challenges of expanding into new markets.

At Demandware’s Xchange ’14 event Salt described how the company was approaching the challenge of catering to international shoppers.

Is social shopping making a comeback?

At one point social shopping was hailed as the future of ecommerce.

Online shopping was supposed to be moving towards becoming a more social and collective experience, whereby users could share their shopping journeys, mimicking the sort of interaction that occurs in physical stores.

However, despite all of these predictions, true social commerce has failed to really gain traction with consumers or retailers.

Whilst social elements, such as sharing buttons, have been integrated into retail websites, the overall vision of social shopping has not yet come to fruition.

Three mobile marketing trends that didn’t live up to the hype

Mobile marketing trends come and go, just like the changing of the seasons and the tides of the sea.

Some stick around and become established marketing channels in their own right, such as SMS or mobile apps, but all too often new mobile technologies burn brightly for a short period before withering and dying.

With this in mind, I’ve rounded up three mobile marketing trends that have so far failed to live up to the hype. I’m not saying they’re dead yet, but they’re on shaky ground.

For a similar grumblings about mobile trends, read my post looking at 12 usability flaws that are spoiling the mobile web.

Or alternatively, expand your knowledge of this topic by downloading the Econsultancy Mobile Marketing and Commerce Report 2013

Digital banking insight from three leading Norwegian banks

Norway is a digital savvy market and has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world (68%).

The digital banking solutions are at the forefront and customer adoption rates are high.

As a result developments and trends seen here may be things that will be launched in other mature markets. 

In this article we give you a rundown of some of the latest developments in the Norwegian market which we hope will be interesting for anyone working with digital banking strategy and developments.

Alibaba: 30+ amazing stats on China’s ecommerce giant

China’s Alibaba Group is gearing up for what could be the world’s biggest ever tech IPO, so it’s probably about time you discovered what the company is all about.

Alibaba was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, who is now said to be worth more than $12bn. He served as chairman and CEO until May 2013 but stepped down to follow other business interests.

And to give an idea of the scale of the business, I’ve rounded up a load of stats that show why the world is so excited about its upcoming IPO.

For more information on this topic, read my blog post looking at 25 stats that show the scale of the ecommerce market in China

Weibos, WeChat & Renren: how to approach social marketing in China

Chinese social networks can seem a daunting challenge for brands that are trying to expand their business in APAC.

Beyond the obvious language barrier marketers have to get to grips with new functionality, cultural behaviours and consumer expectations.

The Chinese internet population currently stands at 618m, with 81% connecting via mobile, so the opportunity is too big to ignore.

And with internet penetration at just 45% there’s still plenty of room for growth.

To find out more about social media in China and how brands should be approaching social marketing, I spoke to HootSuite’s APAC managing director Ken Mandel.

For more information on this topic, download Econsultancy’s South-East Asia Digital Marketing Trends Briefing or our Chinese Digital Market Landscape Report.

Econsultancy Enterprise subscribers are also invited to attend a free roundtable on Ecommerce in China on Tuesday 15 April. Spaces are limited so click here to apply for a place.