Mobile Commerce to Have a Significant Impact on Holiday Shopping

As mobile continues to penetrate nearly every aspect of the way we live, it should come as no surprise that even the holiday season has gone mobile. Specifically, mobile commerce is expected to play a large role in this year's gift shopping.

This is according to a recent joint study by Sybase 365, the mobile services arm of SAP (News - Alert) AG and provider of mobile interconnection services and mobile commerce solutions, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), which states that 87 percent of consumers will be making holiday purchases with a mobile device.


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The study is based on a survey of 1,000 American adults and demonstrates that mobile commerce has had a significant impact on consumer shopping behavior as smartphones and tablets become more and more popular.

The study also states that 50 percent of those surveyed said they will be making at least one purchase via mobile this holiday season. The method of purchase varied from dedicated apps, mobile Web, SMS, voice and point of sale. Furthermore, holiday shoppers will use their mobile devices for shopping research — comparing prices and looking for coupons and other special offers, as well as reading reviews on business and products and keeping track of loyalty points.

Overall, these numbers show a significant increase in mobile commerce compared to the results of a similar study released last year by Sybase 365 (News - Alert) and the MMA, which reported only 62 percent of respondents had plans to shop via mobile.

In October, Sybase 365 partnered with Zajil International Telecom, Kuwait's leading ISP and MPLS service provider, strengthening Sybase 365's global footprint by extending IP Exchange (IPX) services to mobile operators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

That same month, Sybase 365 unveiled a new SMS Reporting Dashboard application for the iPad, which allows users to view key traffic data and statistics for all their mobile messaging services.