m-commerce Global Status Check 2012 - research2guidance · m-commerce status check 2012 research2guidance │ 2013 Site Licence 6 The m-commerce status report is a benchmark for all

m-commerce

Global Status Check 2012

The Status of m-commerce

Site Licence

1st of Februar 2013

m-commerce status check 2012

research2guidance │ 2013 Site Licence

2

Table of Contents 1. Preface................................................................................................................................ 3

2. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 4

3. Current status of m-commerce .......................................................................................... 7

3.1. The reason why: What is the expectation behind .................................................... 7

3.2. How m-commerce apps are being managed today .................................................. 9

3.3. Most used mobile platforms, features and payment methods ................................ 10

3.4. Reach of m-commerce solutions (downloads and users) ....................................... 13

3.5. m-commerce budgets and revenues ....................................................................... 15

3.6. m-commerce outlook 2017 ..................................................................................... 16

4. The followers: What companies plan to do ..................................................................... 18

5. Appendix .......................................................................................................................... 22

5.1. The survey methodology ........................................................................................ 22

5.2. About research2guidance ...................................................................................... 24

List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... 25



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1. Preface

research2guidance is a specialist research organization that focuses on providing insights

into mobile market developments. Our aspiration is to provide business leaders with

guidance and a fact-base that will assist them in better understanding the most important

trends shaping mobile markets today.

This report gives a short summary of the m-commerce global survey that was conducted in

the summer of 2012.

To access additional research documents on the smartphone applications market, please

visit http://www.research2guidance.com/. research2guidance offers different content and

format options to provide you with the information that you need.

A. Reports: Our reports explore the major trends and developments affecting the

market in detail. Separate research papers cover both the entire market, as well as

concentrating on specific parts of it. The reports contain key insights for companies

looking to enter or deepen their engagement in the mobile applications market,

providing data and analysis on all relevant aspects of the market to ease investment

decision-making.

B. Ready-to-use results (1-50 Power Point pages): Take advantage of our broad

selection of Power Point presentation slides by selecting specific content that can

easily be downloaded and incorporated into your presentations.

C. Research projects: Projects are tailored specifically to address your mobile

application market information needs. Examples of projects include: developer

surveys, mobile application strategy definition, and competitor and country analysis.

As with all research2guidance projects, the research behind these reports has not been

commissioned or sponsored in any way by any business, government, or other institution.

research2guidance



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2. Introduction

Mobile Commerce (m-commerce) is on the rise: more online merchants are joining the

quickly expanding market, more m-commerce applications are being published, and more

people are turning to their mobile devices to make speedy and usually simple transactions.

m-commerce is hyped, but what is the real status?

m-commerce, for the purpose of this report, is defined as any commercial transaction that is

made with the help of a mobile webpage or application.

This report examines the current status of m-commerce, by providing answers to top 20

questions of m-commerce today:

1. The rational: Why do companies invest in m-commerce and what do they

envision the role of m-commerce will be in 5 years.

2. The status of acceptance: The number of m-commerce applications is being

published per active company.

3. The experience level: The experience level in number of years that companies

today have with this new channel to the customer.

4. The typical m-commerce budget: The budget that companies spend on m-

commerce applications today and the planned budget in the near future.

5. The staff needed: How many employees are necessary to manage m-commerce

solutions per company.

6. The outsourcing level: To what degree companies rely on outsourced capacities

or white label solutions for their m-commerce applications.

7. The technology preference: Whether native or web based applications are

preferred by m-commerce vendors.

8. The platform preference: To what degree secondary mobile platforms like

BlackBerry or WP7 are being used by m-commerce companies.

9. The device preference: To what extent companies tailor their m-commerce

application for tablets, smartphones or other devices like feature phones or

game consoles.

10. The preferred functional features: What are the main functional features like

social network integration that are being incorporated into an m-commerce

application.

11. The preferred payment methods: Which payment methods e.g. credit card or

operator billing are being preferred by mobile shop owners.

12. The download numbers: The number of downloads m-commerce application

generate.

13. The generated revenue: The revenue mobile shops generated in 2010, 2011 and

2012(e).



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14. The share of mobile business: Mobile sales as a percentage of total online sales

today and in the next five years.

15. The reach of active users: How many users mobile shops have.

16. The products that are offered most on mobile: Type of products sold through m-

commerce applications.

17. The projection for the future: Mobil shop owners projection of m-commerce

revenue in 2017.

18. The revenue share of m-commerce: The share of m-commerce revenue has on

total e-commerce revenue for 2010, 2011 and 2012 (e).

19. The differences between m-commerce leaders and followers: The way today’s

non-active companies view the market and how this view differs from that of m-

commerce practitioners.

20. The key learnings: What companies would do differently again, based on their

experiences in the market.

The status report is based on the results of a global online survey conducted in Q3/Q4 2012.

More than 600 companies have provided insights on how they make use of the mobile

channel to sell goods.

The following table gives an extract of participating companies.



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The m-commerce status report is a benchmark for all online retailers, mobile first shop

runners and companies that plan to sell products with the help of a mobile application.

012 Smile Grizzly Analytics Panlogic

3Cinteractive Harvad Alumni Park84.net

Ahoy Health Startup Europe PerfectStorm Media

Amiando Hf consulting Proaxia Consulting

AppCarousel Hilton Qbuy

ArwoConsult Hunkemoller RDZ Media Group

Associated Integrated Marketing iCrossing Reactive

Association for Computing Machinery Iddon Agenda RECHTSANWALTSKANZLEI

Atosho IG Reloop

ATT iiNet Rosner GmbH

Bambinoworld Incelligence Sapient

Be Digital Now informa Sisma Capita Group

bemoko Istituto Superiore Mario Boella Sixpack mobile applications

Bluelight Partners IT BizFlow Socket mobile

BTD Group ITgma SponsorPay

Business to You Keypoint Technologies Spyder

Bwin party Komli Media Startapp

Cablevisión Fibertel Komli Media StateofAppiness

Carat Content LBI Sybase

CareerCafe’ Life Wire Tata Group

Cherry Media Markenbildung Telefonica

Cidway mDiagnostica Telenet

Colderice MedHand International AB Tellmemore

Commonsense Advisory Medien System Haus Tempos 21

Comviva Medtronic Test.de

Convisual Meteda The Luciano Group

Creacciones mHealthsys The Wollen Group

Davidoff Michael Page Timwe

Deutsche Telekom Mob4Hire Todacell

Diligent. Mobidia Top Toy

Dimagi Mobile Backstage touchGrove

Dr. Walter Wintersteiger Mobile Fashon Shop TRIFORK

DST output Mobile Strategy Uhopper

DZEN interaktiv Mobile zeitgeist Understanding eCommerce

eCommera mobileweb company United Bank Limited

Elisa Mobmendit.com Unwiredplaza

Empirical Media Moma UOL

Ericsson Multiace VenistaVentures

ETRONIKA Ndot Walgreens

Eurofides Neckermann.de GmbH Web.de

Everbridge NeuralDiagnostic Webgistix

F.biz NicheCommerce wePutUonline

Fantastic 1 Nimbuzz! Wima

Fit4 market One stop webshop WSI

Fuel OptiMedis AG XMI Pte Ltd

Gemina Technologies Oriental Trading - Yoc

GMX P3 group Youda Games

Go Accomplish Paidthx YQBahrain

GRANDE Communication PamConsult Zooz

Participants to the mCommerce Survey 2012



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3. Current status of m-commerce

The status of m-commerce is best described by the number of m-commerce solutions

offered, the reach of these solutions, the revenue that has been garnered and the budget

that is being allocated to maintain and develop m-commerce apps and mobile web pages.

3.1. The reason why: What is the expectation behind

The majority of companies view the mobile channel as an add on, not as a replacement of

existing channels to their customers. Companies that adopt m-commerce do so to either to

open up a new sales channel or to be able to reach a new segment of customers. By utilizing

m-commerce, companies reach mobile interested individuals and entice them with their

products. One third of the companies went mobile because they wanted to be one of the

first or because their customers have asked for mobile access to the shop.

Figure 1: Reasons that lead companies to adopt m-commerce

The “it is an additional channel” view does not change for the long term perspective. The

majority (55,3%) of companies invested or will invest in m-commerce because they think “it

will be an important channel of sales, but only for specific target groups” in five years time

in their field of business. Nevertheless a large share (33,4%) of companies assume mobile

will become the main channel or it will even replace all other channels in 5 years time. Only

a minority expects that mobile shops will only remain a niche channel.

1,2%

8,6%

33,3%

33,3%

38,9%

52,5%

54,9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Don't know

Something else

To be "on the edge"

Our customers desired a mobile channel

It was necessary to remain competitive

It enables us to reach new target groups

It is an additional channel of sales



8

Figure 2: Relevance of m-commerce in five years time

The majority of the mobile active companies have published more than one mobile

shopping app. This is mainly due to the multi-platform strategy which became almost

mandatory. 37% of the companies that use m-commerce offer 1-2 solutions whereas almost

one third offer 7 or more m-commerce solutions. Companies that offered a singular app

designed for different platforms were considered to have multiple solutions. Companies

that. For instance, an app that works on both Android and iOS is treated as two apps.

Figure 3: Number of m-commerce solutions currently used by companies

Over 30% of the m-commerce leaders (companies active in m-commerce) have been

engaged with m-commerce for three or more years. Three years represent already a

longtime in a market which dates back only 4,5 years. It is not surprising that these early

birds have on average twice as many m-commerce solutions compared to the latecomers.

The majority of today’s mobile shop operators launched their first solution after 2010.

1,7%

2,0%

7,7%

11,7%

21,7%

55,3%

Don't know

Something else

It will remain a rather insignificant channel of sales

It will practically replace all other channels of sales

It will be the main channel of sales for most businesses

It will be an important channel of sales, but only for specific target groups

18,9% 18,4% 19,8%

6,6%

29,2%

7,1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

1 2 3-4 5-6 7 or more Don't know



9

Figure 4: Number of years leaders have been using m-commerce solutions

3.2. How m-commerce apps are being managed today

A typical m-commerce department is made up of 2-4 employees. An m-commerce operation

run by a single individual is uncharacteristic. Nearly 23% of companies have more than 10

people working under their m-commerce wing. This reflects the fact that the know-how

needed to develop and manage m-commerce solutions is too broad for just one person.

Figure 5: Number of people in charge of m-commerce at companies

The majority of m-commerce solutions are being developed in-house. Outsourcing is

preferred by only 14,8%. White label solutions like Shopgate that allow can develop a

mobile shop within a few days are being preferred by almost 13%. Development leads as

the choice of method for m-commerce solution developments.

11,4% 11,4%

17,1%

23,2%

32,2%

4,7%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Less than six months

More than six months

1 year or more 2 years or more 3 years or more Not sure / don't know

11,2%

40,3%

18,0%

22,8%

7,8%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

1 2-4 5-10 More than 10 Don't know



10

Figure 6: Method used to develop companies’ m-commerce solution (degree of outsourcing)

Companies tend to build up their know-how internally. One reason is the strategic relevance

today’s mobile shop operators attach to the mobile channel (see figure 1).

3.3. Most used mobile platforms, features and payment methods

The general discussion around HTML 5 and native application as a core concept for the

technical platform of a mobile solution also exists amongst mobile shop operators. The

majority of today’s mobile shops are built around a web kernel wrapped in a native frame,

meaning that they make use of web and native programming technologies. SMS and MMS

technologies are mainly used for alerts and payment solutions.

Figure 7: Technology platforms of m-commerce solutions

61,2%

14,8% 12,9% 7,7%

3,3%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

In-house development

A specialized mobile web developer

White label platform

Other Not sure / don't know

76,0%

60,5%

36,5%

11,0%

2,0% 4,5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Mobile Web Native App SMS/MMS Something else None of these Not sure / Don't know



11

IOS and Android are the most widely supported mobile operating systems when it comes to

running m-commerce apps. Windows Phone ranks third, preceding RIM Blackberry by a

narrow margin. Former world leading smartphone operating system Symbian only counts

for 25% of all mobile shopping applications. BADA (by Samsung) still is a niche technology.

Figure 8: Mobile operating systems supported of m-commerce apps

Smartphones and tablets are the major targets of m-commerce solutions. Considering that

cell phones are one of the few things that almost never leave their owners’ sides, it’s fitting

that smartphones are the most targeted devices. Furthermore, since there are more people

who own smartphones than tablets, e-readers or game consoles, it’s sensible that 96% of

companies have m-commerce solutions that run on smartphones. Although feature phones

account for a larger share of mobile phone circulation, they are only addressed by 26% of

today’s mobile shops specifically.

Figure 9: Devices targeted by m-commerce solutions

Mobile shops today do not only offer product descriptions and allow financial transactions,

but rather they make use of device embedded technologies like cameras (QR code reader)

or GPS (store finder). Social media integration is the feature that mobile shopping

85,8% 84,2%

37,5% 35,8%

25,0%

12,5% 4,2%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Android iOS (Apple) Windows Phone

RIM (BlackBerry)

Symbian Samsung Bada

Others

96,0%

74,0%

26,0%

12,4% 6,2% 4,5%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Smartphones Tablets Feature cell phones e-readers Game consoles Others



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applications incorporate the most (42%). Augmented reality is being used only within a

minority (12,3%) of today’s mobile shops.

Figure 10: Applied features within m-commerce solutions

Credit card payment is the most popular payment mechanism (75%) followed by direct

debit (52,8%) and mobile wallets/pre payment (50%). The classical mobile content billing

methods like SMS (33%) or operator billing (30%) are still relevant in today’s mobile

shopping. Proximity payment has been adopted by a surprisingly high share of m-commerce

solutions (47,2%) despite the fact that by 2012 only a reasonable amount of capable devices

had been released. The majority of mobile shops offer 3-4 different payment methods

today.

Figure 11: Payment mechanisms offered in m-commerce apps

12,3%

16,7%

16,7%

17,3%

18,5%

22,8%

24,1%

24,7%

25,3%

27,8%

28,4%

29,6%

30,9%

31,5%

32,7%

33,3%

42,0%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Augmented reality shopping

In-store navigation

Something else

Price comparison

Mobile ticket delivery

PoS (Point-of-Sales) payment

Mobile banking

Video display of products

Store finder

Couponing

Loyalty schemes

Location-based offers

Offering discounts and special deals

QR / Barcode scanner

Remote payment

Product reviews

Social network integration

5,6%

8,3%

27,8%

30,6%

33,3%

47,2%

50,0%

50,0%

52,8%

75,0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Payment through MMS

Something else

Payment per invoice

Operator billing

Payment through SMS

Proximity payment

Mobile merchant solution

Mobile wallet app / web site

Direct debit payment

Credit card payment



13

Similar to the initial years of e-commerce, virtual goods (music, software etc.) are the most

widely offered m-commerce solutions (39,9%). Services (e.g. call a taxi, translations) are

being offered by 22,6 of today’s mobile shops. Physical goods (e.g. nutrition, clothing) rank

fourth, offered by 15,9 %.

Figure 12: Types of products companies offer most through their m-commerce solution(s)

3.4. Reach of m-commerce solutions (downloads and users)

The reach is defined by the number of downloads or active users. 19% of m-commerce apps

are top sellers with 2 million or more downloads. As with all applications there is also a

“long tail” of apps that do not generate these high download numbers although almost

100% of today’s shopping applications are free for download. The majority (39,7%) of

shopping applications accumulate less than 100.000 downloads from the release date.

39,9%

22,6%

17,8% 15,9%

3,8%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Virtual goods Services Something else Physical goods Don't know



14

Figure 13: Total number of downloads achieved by m-commerce apps

The number of active users is defined as returning users an m-commerce solutions has. The

active user number is smaller than the download number. This reflects the fact that pure

mobile web shops attract fewer visitors than their native counterparts. Secondly, even in

native application with high reach (high downloads), returning user share is reported to be

less than 50% on average. Nevertheless, more than 25% of today’s mobile shops have

100.000 or more returning shop users. A great share (44%) instead must build their business

models around 10.000 or less returning users.

Figure 14: Total number of active users m-commerce per company

7,8%

14,7%

17,2%

12,1%

3,4%

19,0%

25,9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

25,4%

18,6%

13,0% 11,3%

14,1%

17,5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%



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3.5. m-commerce budgets and revenues

The budget spent on developing and operating m-commerce solutions varies significantly.

13,2% of mobile shopping operators spent upwards of US$ 1 Mio. in 2012. On contrary, the

budget of almost one third of companies is less than US$ 20.000. Budgets tend to increase

slightly from 2011 to 2012.

Figure 15: m-commerce budget for 2011 and 2012 (US$)

The relative low budget did match with the revenue m-commerce solutions generated in the

early days in 2010. A great part (40,6%) of the mobile shops made a turnover of less than

US$ 100.000. Some mobile shops have made more than US$ 1 Mio., but their share was

relatively low (14,4%). The share of “plus US$ 1 Mio. mobile shops” has increased since

then, reaching 31,4 % in 2012 (estimated).

23,4%

7,3% 8,0% 7,3% 9,5%

7,3% 6,6%

30,7%

14,7%

10,3%

6,6% 6,6% 8,8%

9,6%

13,2%

30,1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

2011 2012



16

Figure 16: Generated revenue from m-commerce in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (US$)

3.6. m-commerce outlook 2017

The following forecasts of mobile shop operators are based on the growth in the previous

years. 46,5% of today’s companies that sell products and services of the mobile channel plan

to make more than US$ 1 Mio. in 2017. The share of shops that plan to generate more than

US$ 10 Mio. will almost triple. The category share of US$ 51 – 100 Mio. will grow six fold

compared to 2012 numbers, and the number of plus US$ 100 Mio. mobile shops will more

than double in 4-5 years time.

Figure 17: Expected revenue from m-commerce for 2017

40,6%

7,5% 7,5%

3,8%

0,8% 0,0% 2,3%

37,6%

31,3%

11,5%

7,6% 7,6%

3,1%

0,0% 1,5%

37%

24,4%

14,5% 13,7%

8,4%

5,3%

1,5% 2,3%

29,8%

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%

45,0%

<100k 100k-1 Mio. 1 - 5 Mio. 6 - 10 Mio. 11 - 50 Mio. 51 - 100 Mio.

>100 Mio. not disclosed

2010 2011 2012

10,7% 12,2%

8,4% 8,4%

13,7%

10,7%

5,3%

30,5%

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

<100k 100k-1 Mio. 1 - 5 Mio. 6 - 10 Mio. 11 - 50 Mio. 51 - 100 Mio.

>100 Mio. not disclosed



17

The growing importance of the mobile channel is also reflected in its increasing share of the

total e-commerce revenue. In 2012, the majority (44,7% of disclosing companies) of mobile

shops contributed less than 5% to the total e-commerce turnover. In 2017, the majority

(52,3% of disclosing companies) of mobile shops will contribute more than 10% to the total

revenue. 9,8% of mobile shops will even contribute 100% of total e-commerce.

Figure 18: Share of m-commerce of total e-commerce revenue 2012 and 2017

m-commerce companies have an optimistic view on how the performance of the mobile

channel will evolve over the next 4-5 years. There are things that they would do differently

in the future than they have done in the past. Putting more emphasis on marketing and

adding more functionality right from the beginning are the most prominent lessons learnt.

All other lessons such as “commit more IT resources” or “choose a different OS” play a

minor role. 16,5% of all mobile shop operators is happy with the way the initial launches

worked and would not change anything.

27,3%

17,4%

5,3%

2,3%

5,3%

8,3%

5,3%

28,8%

8,3%

5,3% 6,1%

15,2%

12,1%

15,2%

9,8%

28,0%

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

Less than 1%

2-5% 6-10% 11-25% 26-50% More than 50%

All of it (100%)

Don't know

2012 2017



18

Figure 19: Things companies would have done differently if they were launching their m-commerce solution today

4. The followers: What companies plan to do

Despite the hype around m-commerce and the initial success of a few companies, which

have been covered in the press, the vast majority of companies still do not have a mobile

commerce solution. This will change, but with moderate speed. 48,6% of those non-active

companies still has no plans to launch a m-commerce channel. On the other side, 35% are

ready to start, and plan to launch within 6-12 months.

Figure 20: Companies’ plans to introduce m-commerce solution

Those who plan to enter into m-commerce seem to rely more on external resources than

the present market leaders do. The share of companies that will make use of white label

4,9%

8,5%

11,0%

11,6%

11,6%

14,6%

16,5%

20,7%

36,6%

37,8%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Something else

Reduce features/functionality

Choose a different OS

Use a white label solution

Don't know

Provide better customer support

Nothing, everything worked fine

Commit more IT resources to it

Invest more in marketing

Add more features/functionality

16,8%

31,8%

16,4%

18,2%

16,8%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Not sure / Don't know

No, not in the near future

Yes, in the next two-three years

Yes, in the next year

Yes, in the next six months



19

solutions and outsourced developers are almost double (48%) as the already active

companies (27,7%). Followers tend not to rely on internal resources (28% versus 61,2% for

leaders).

Figure 21: Companies’ choice of method for developing their m-commerce platform

Similar to the established m-commerce players, new entrants identify social network

integration as an important feature that should be included in m-commerce solutions. Other

features that are well suited for instant use on the go are deals and couponing.

Figure 22: Features planned to be included in m-commerce solutions

11,5%

13,0%

13,7%

17,6%

18,3%

21,4%

22,1%

22,9%

24,4%

26,7%

29,8%

30,5%

31,3%

32,1%

32,8%

34,4%

35,1%

56,5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

None of these

Something else

Augmented reality shopping

Price comparison

In-store navigation

Mobile ticket delivery

Mobile banking

PoS (Point-of-Sales) payment

Video display of products

Store finder

Location-based offers

QR / Barcode scanner

Loyalty schemes

Product reviews

Remote payment

Couponing

Offering discounts and special deals

Social network integration



20

As with the leaders, the new entrants believe the credit card payment system to be a major

component of payment mechanism, with 73% of companies planning to offer it as an

alternative means of payment.

Figure 23: Payment mechanism followers plan to include in their m-commerce solution

Smartphones and tablets are the main devices that are being targeted with planned m-

commerce services. Followers plan to pay more attention to tablets compared to their

leader counterparts. Other devices do not play a significant role in their future plans.

Figure 24: Targeted devices of m-commerce followers

Companies planning to enter into m-commerce intend to use Mobile Web and Native App

as the two major platforms for their solutions. Mobile web is the preferred option as most

0,0%

10,0%

13,3%

26,7%

30,0%

33,3%

46,7%

50,0%

60,0%

66,7%

73,3%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Something else

Don't know

Payment through MMS

Payment per invoice (invoice filled out online)

Operator billing (amount is added to monthly bill)

Payment through SMS

Mobile merchant solution

Proximity payment

Direct debit payment

Mobile wallet app / web site online payment

Credit card payment

50,2%

42,9%

7,7% 4,7% 3,9% 3,0%

0,4% 3,0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Smartphones Tablets Feature cell phones

Game consoles

e-readers Others None of these

Don't know



21

of the companies want to reuse existing web shops in an attempt to reduce maintenance

effort. There are no big differences between followers and leaders.

Figure 25: Technology platforms followers plan to use for their m-commerce solution

Similar to the preference of the leading companies, Android and iOS are the leading

platforms for future native m-commerce app developments. Windows Phone is also on the

list, which reflects the promises Microsoft is making with its new operating system WP8.

Figure 26: Mobile operating platforms that will be supported by followers’ m-commerce apps

The former smartphone market leader RIM is seen as a platform that must be served if a

company wants to make sure that it reaches all of its potential customers, but it is clearly

fourth choice for native m-commerce apps.

76,6%

57,8%

26,6%

4,7% 0,8%

11,7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Mobile Web Native App SMS/MMS Something else None of these Not sure / Don't know

91,8% 90,4%

43,8%

35,6%

15,1% 9,6%

1,4% 4,1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Android iOS (Apple) Windows Phone

RIM (BlackBerry)

Symbian Samsung Bada

Others Don't know



22

5. Appendix

5.1. The survey methodology

The m-commerce survey conducted by research2guidance in summer 2012 had a pool of

602 respondents. Over 47% of the respondents were companies and firms with an

employee range of 1-50 people. The USA claims the lion’s share of respondents’ country of

origin at 23%, followed by India and Central Europe.

Figure 27: Survey participants by country

Other countries include: Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Austria,

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia,

Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan,

Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, North Korea,

Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South

Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, UAE

and Vietnam.

The IT/Services/Software industry represents the largest share of the survey respondents,

standing at a quarter of the total pool.



23

Figure 28: Respondents by industry

8,0%

0,0%

0,0%

0,0%

0,2%

0,2%

0,4%

0,6%

0,6%

0,8%

1,6%

2,2%

2,8%

3,8%

5,0%

6,0%

7,2%

9,4%

11,4%

14,8%

25,1%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Other

Mechanical Engineering

Construction

Catering (food) industry

Logistics/ Cargo transport

Law

Automotive

Energy/ Public Utilities

Audit/ Accounting

Non-Profit

Travel / Tourism

Consumer goods

Chemical/ Pharmacy/ Healthcare

Banking/ Insurance

Electronics/Technology

Retail

Media

Telecom

Consulting/ Agency

Internet

IT/ Services/ Software



24

5.2. About research2guidance

research2guidance is a market intelligence and consultancy company specializing in the

mobile apps market.

Our service offerings

Reports and PowerPoint slide-sets: market insights on selected topics

Bespoke research: custom-made research for your individual needs

Knowledge center: a subscription to a wealth of data, analyses, profiles, and

daily news and opinions

Consulting services: projects tailored to assist you in developing your mobile

strategy

Our monitoring analyst team

Ralf-Gordon Jahns

Ralf is the Managing Director of

research2guidance. He has

worked for more than 17 years

in the telecom and media

industry. Prior to

research2guidance he worked as

a partner for Capgemini

Telecom Media & Networks.

Ralf is a frequent keynote

speaker on mobile industry

events, publisher of a multitude

of mobile market reports and

executive consultant of more

than 30 clients in the telecom

and media industry.

Zekarias Assefa

Zekarias is a Research Analyst at

research2guidance. He has

studied Global Economics and

Management at Jacobs

University. He has previously

worked as Data Analyst for the

Bremen Graduate School as well

as a Marketing Analyst and as a

Data Management Assistant at

BaseCase Management and

ResearchGate. He was the

project manager of the global

m-commerce survey and

participated in the m-Health and

in-app advertisement projects of

research2guidance.

http://www.research2guidance.com/

http://www.research2guidance.com/



25

List of Figures

Figure 1: Reasons that lead companies to adopt m-commerce ................................................ 7

Figure 2: Relevance of m-commerce in five years time ............................................................. 8

Figure 3: Number of m-commerce solutions currently used by companies ............................... 8

Figure 4: Number of years leaders have been using m-commerce solutions ............................ 9

Figure 5: Number of people in charge of m-commerce at companies ...................................... 9

Figure 6: Method used to develop companies’ m-commerce solution (degree of outsourcing)

.................................................................................................................................................. 10

Figure 7: Technology platforms of m-commerce solutions ...................................................... 10

Figure 8: Mobile operating systems supported of m-commerce apps .................................... 11

Figure 9: Devices targeted by m-commerce solutions ............................................................. 11

Figure 10: Applied features within m-commerce solutions ..................................................... 12

Figure 11: Payment mechanisms offered in m-commerce apps .............................................. 12

Figure 12: Types of products companies offer most through their m-commerce solution(s) . 13

Figure 13: Total number of downloads achieved by m-commerce apps ................................. 14

Figure 14: Total number of active users m-commerce per company ...................................... 14

Figure 15: m-commerce budget for 2011 and 2012 (US$) ...................................................... 15

Figure 16: Generated revenue from m-commerce in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (US$) .................. 16

Figure 17: Expected revenue from m-commerce for 2017 ...................................................... 16

Figure 19: Share of m-commerce of total e-commerce revenue 2011 and 2017 .................... 17

Figure 20: Things companies would have done differently if they were launching their m-

commerce solution today ......................................................................................................... 18

Figure 21: Companies’ plans to introduce m-commerce solution ........................................... 18

Figure 22: Companies’ choice of method for developing their m-commerce platform ........... 19

Figure 23: Features planned to be included in m-commerce solutions .................................. 19

Figure 24: Payment mechanism followers plan to include in their m-commerce solution ...... 20

Figure 25: Targeted devices of m-commerce followers ........................................................... 20

Figure 26: Technology platforms followers plan to use for their m-commerce solution ......... 21

Figure 27: Mobile operating platforms that will be supported by followers’ m-commerce

apps .......................................................................................................................................... 21

Figure 28: Survey participants by country ............................................................................... 22

Figure 29: Respondents by industry ......................................................................................... 23

Documents

m-commerce Global Status Check 2012 - research2guidance · m-commerce status check 2012 research2guidance │ 2013 Site Licence 6 The m-commerce status report is a benchmark for all