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Amazon makes m-commerce acquisition

Thursday, January 2, 2014 - 11:30 by Paul Tissington

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Amazon could soon be butting heads with companies like PayPal, following its alleged acquisition of US m-commerce firm, GoPaygo.

The tiny start-up will join Amazon's ranks and the technology it has developed could be used on a major new project, according to Finextra.

GoPaygo has been around for almost five years and is effectively a click and collect smartphone app, that lets people order goods from local retailers online and then pick them up in-store on the same day.

While click and collect has been a big hit with major retail chains, it is something that many smaller outlets cannot offer on their own terms.

However, if GoPaygo and Amazon join forces once the takeover deal is finalised, then the end result might be a similar system which is available on the world's biggest outlet for safe shopping online.

Amazon has already worked to empower individual sellers to part ways with products for cash through its e-commerce marketplace. Now it could be adding click and collect to the mix, so that people can browse items from nearby outlets on their smartphones, then arrange to pick them up shortly afterwards.

It is also alleged that Amazon is trying to get hold of its own point of sale service, so that it can channel transactions through its site, much like the way PayPal operates for eBay.

Amazon is just one of the many companies trying to find a way into this area of the e-commerce market, as it is also something being targeted by the likes of Facebook and search giant, Google.

A widening of the click and collect net would be good, especially for independent retailers, which have trouble offering competitive services in this area. It would also be beneficial for Amazon to let people make secure m-commerce payments while in-store, shoring up the protection of transactions.