2013 m-commerce marketing spend to double

Friday, January 25, 2013 - 08:56 by Graham Miller

It is possible to argue that retailers are playing catch-up when it comes to offering their services on mobile devices. Many companies only considered creating a mobile site to streamline safe shopping online from a smartphone, after it was apparent that consumers were using their handsets to access desktop sites.

However, 2013 could be the year in which retailers and advertisers get serious about m-commerce, since a new report, from Juniper Research, has estimated that the annual spend on mobile marketing will double between now and 2015.

While smartphone uptake has played a key role in refocusing marketing strategies on portable devices, analysts believe that it will be tablets that really allow retailers to ramp up the levels of customer engagement that are possible with online campaigns.

Ultimately, the goal on mobile devices is the same as it is on desktop machines; to get people interested in adverts and encourage them to click through and carry out a transaction via safe shopping online.

The difference comes in the way that ads can be delivered and indeed the format they can take. In-app advertising, for example, is a growing part of the industry, which allows for more targeted promotions aimed at the audience of a specific piece of software.

This approach also benefits app developers, since they are able to offer their content free of charge and use ad revenues to support future projects.

Other mobile enhancements include augmented reality for digital advertising, that is overlaid on the real world, along with NFC (near field communication) connectivity, which not only lets consumers make payments, but can also transfer data over short ranges to provide interactive elements in static hoardings.

In short, consumers can expect to encounter not only higher volumes of mobile advertising for m-commerce, but also more intelligently organised campaigns.