New York SBDC Research Network

From eMarketer : Consumers across the globe are warming up to proximity mobile payments. In 2018, for the first time, more than one-third (34.9%) of smartphone users ages 14 and older will use a mobile phone to pay for a purchase at a physical point of sale (POS) at least once every six months... Overall, most proximity mobile payment user growth worldwide will be driven by the expansion of the big three global providers—Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay—as well as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Growing retailer acceptance of mobile payments and spreading smartphone usage will also fuel growth.

From eMarketer : Shopping on your mobile device isn’t always a smooth process. In fact, a new survey finds that many digital shoppers have a difficult time placing orders via mobile, resulting in an abandoned cart. A study from Addressy polled digital buyers in the US, UK and Germany, and found that nearly four in 10 respondents had issues entering their personal details when trying to complete a purchase on their mobile phone, which caused them to desert their cart. Entering personal details is just one of several problems digital shoppers face. Some 35% of respondents said the screen wasn't big enough to see what they were typing, and more than a quarter had issues entering their order accurately. What's more, one-third said they lost the connection, which resulted in a loss of interest in that product. But it isn't always a poor mobile experience that results in an abandoned cart.

From eMarketing : Over the past few years, the use of mobile devices for financial activities has expanded from simply checking an account balance to include other types of transactions, such as proximity payments and peer-to-peer (P2P) fund transfers. Millennials have pioneered the adoption of both mobile banking and payments, but adoption is also rising among older adults, according to eMarketer’s latest report, “US Mobile Banking and Payments: eMarketer’s Estimates for 2016-2021.” eMarketer estimates the value of US proximity mobile payment transactions will total $49.29 billion in 2017, up 78.1% from last year. Though the growth rate will remain in double digits through the forecast period, it will slow down to 23.9% in 2021. That year, US consumers will use their mobile phones to pay for $189.97 billion worth of goods and services at a physical point of sale (POS). The average annual spend per proximity mobile payment user in the US will reach $1,026 in 2017, surpassing $

From PC magazine : Amazon may have started as an online-only experience, but today the company is very much blended into real-world retail. This week, the company was granted a patent for technology that can prevent in-store shoppers from comparison shopping online. The patent - for "Physical Store Online Shopper Control" - is pretty self-explanatory. If you're in a store and logged on to that store's Wi-Fi, the network will see if you navigate to a rival's website to compare prices. The store can then block you from doing so, offer up a discount to purchase in-store, or even send a store employee over to persuade you to make that purchase. Amazon is expanding its brick-and-mortar presence so this technology could be deployed at its own stores, but it could also make a pretty penny licensing the tech to rivals. Call it augmented retail.

From eMarketer : What’s stopping mobile users from making purchases on their phones? Unfortunately, the solution is out of the hands of retailers. For one thing, the screens are too darn small. That was one of the findings of a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey conducted in September 2016. The data was part of a UK-focused report that compared consumer usage and attitudes in the UK with those in China and the US. According to eMarketer’s latest estimates, some 147.3 million people in the US will use a mobile device to make a purchase this year. That works out to slightly more than 55% of all mobile phone users.

More and more people are browsing, shopping, and doing business on their phones and tablets. Currently, 11.3% of the digital population uses mobile  only , compared to 10.6% desktop only use*. This may not seem significant now but these numbers will continue to grow as mobile capabilities advance and mobile devices become more and more integral to day-to-day life.  Seriously, if you are not mobile ready you are missing an opportunity to connect with mobile users who may be future customers and partners. So how do you get started? You see, mobile is really about your audience. Here are some tips to help you get started. Click  HERE  to learn more!

You've spent time and money designing the perfect marketing campaign. You've designed a flawless strategy to drive customers to your awesome sales page and you know it will convert. You've thought of everything... Except your shopping cart process. When you design a marketing campaign, you're focused on selling a solution or understanding the motivation for buying a product. You're thinking about what makes someone click on the "buy" button. But until the last "confirm order" is clicked, the sale is in jeopardy. Shopping cart abandonment can be as high as 75%! At any point in the checkout process, customers might get turned off; they'll then simply click away from the site. In short, your checkout process is just as important as your marketing strategy. More from MarketingProfs

Mobile marketing has finally come of age with more consumers than ever making purchases using their mobile devices. If you're in business, then this is a trend you need to pay attention to. CIO.com reports that 28 percent of sales are now conducted on mobile devices, primarily smartphones. In 2014, sales using smartphones increased by 87 percent year-over-year. While sales via tablets expanded by a smaller percentage, it still grew by 52 percent. In other words, mobile marketing is the wave of the future. Yet, many brands have yet to develop fully mature mobile marketing strategies. For some, mobile marketing remains somewhat vague and difficult to contain in the same way as traditional marketing. While mobile marketing is still growing and evolving, it is basically any type of marketing that is used to promote business through the use of a mobile device, including smartphones and tablets. Mobile marketing doesn't have to be some mysterious thing. More from Entrepreneur

More than one-third of consumers (37%) say they most often abandon an online shopping cart because they decide at the last minute that the purchase is too expensive, according to a recent report from Offers.com. The second most common reason for not completing an online purchase is finding a better price on another website. Just 20% say they almost always purchase the items they put in their online shopping carts. Read more from MarketingProfs

It was only a matter of time before consumers would have the option of shopping via their cell phones. The more you do on your cell phone, the more you expect to do. This story is about Ralph Lauren and how they are making it possible to make purchases from their phone-friendly store via mobile. Polo Ralph Lauren to launch shopping by cell phone http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=polo-ralph-lauren-to-laun Scientific American By Martinne Geller