Research released today by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) examines the ways in which consumers are using their mobile, tablets and *PCs to research and purchase products and services, and examines the role each device plays along the purchase path.

The Mobile Online Journey Observation (MOJO) study, which was delivered by GfK’s Digital research team, looks to understand how mobile and PCs are changing and influencing the ways in which consumers buy products. Over 800 smartphone owners were interviewed about the purchase journey of their most recently purchased product. Furthermore, the purchase behaviours of 60 Android owners were tracked across mobile and PC (using GfK’s ConnectedLife Panel) for one month and in some cases re-contacted for tele-depth interviews to further understand their journeys.

The study reveals how both devices play pivotal roles throughout the purchase journey. Awareness of the brand purchased (via display advertising and social networks) was 52% on PC, and almost as high on mobile (45%). Moving through the journey, 78% of respondents researched a product on a PC, and 54% via mobile. As the journey approaches the final commitment to purchase, 80% opted to carry out the transaction via PC and a significant 34% made their purchase on mobile.

Mobile and PC advertising works harder together – the majority of respondents were not using each device in isolation at each stage of the purchase journey- in particular during the awareness and research phase most respondents used both devices together.

It’s not only PC that works well with TV, mobile can too – Consumers are looking for convenience -  44% of respondents in this study stated that they reach for their mobile when wanting to follow up after seeing a TV ad, and are most often looking for more detailed price and product information
Smartphones are the shopper’s first port of call – the research proves that twice as many respondents turn to their mobile to follow up on an advert or recommendation, as they do by going in store.
Mobile – the new companion on the high street- The research shows that 38% of respondents use their smartphone in store- and of this group, 55% conducted an internet search in store about a certain product or service, and nearly half (49%) carried out price comparisons with other retailers whilst on the move. This research proves just how much consumers rely on their mobile phones, as 18% of respondents stated they trust their mobile device over their shopping companion (15%) when making in store purchase decisions.
Retailers need a tablet strategy – Almost three quarters of Smartphone owners who also use a tablet use their tablet to make a purchase every week.   On average, tablet owners are spending 4.4 hours a week browsing retail sites on their tablet.

IAB’s senior mobile manger, Alex Kozloff said “This research takes us one step further in understanding the increasing impact digital devices are having throughout the purchase journey. By showing the deep impact digital devices are having from brand awareness, to research, to purchase (both in store and online), we hope advertisers will have a clearer understanding of how to adapt their strategy. In particular, the way the way consumers are turning to their mobile phone in store is a strong call to action for retailers to react to this growing trend.”
GfK’s research director, Ryan Garner said “The research clearly demonstrates the importance of a cross device digital marketing strategy. The more connected devices consumers own, the more their behaviours change and the more complex their purchasing habits become. Those brands and retailers that can best accommodate this changing dynamic will be best placed to generate new sales and capitalise on consumers’ desire to use their smartphone for research and purchase more in the future.”
*PC covers both desktops and laptops

Read the full article here:

Retail Technology – 12/1/2012

http://www.retailtechnology.co.uk/market-analysis/making-mobile-technology-pay

“Even NFC is not seen as particularly secure, says Keith Brown, chief executive of paythru, which enables people to transfer funds via the cloud for applications such as parking charges.

The maximum budget limit of £100 for NFC transactions has not been increased in the three years since it was introduced.  This suggests not much progress has been made on security, says Mr Brown.

“By using the cloud, nothing is stored on the phone, making the system much more safe and secure. “People with authenticate themselves with biometrics such as fingerprint or voice identification, he says”

The full article is below. Alternatively click on this link to view the article in the FT. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/befd3b54-3bd6-11e1-bb39-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1j98fCqhL

Financial Times – Enabling mobile payments – 11/1/2012

Enabling mobile payments

By Jane Bird

Since mobile phones first became popular, technologists have been looking for ways to turn them into electronic wallets. The aim is to let customers leave cash and plastic cards at home by enabling them to use their handsets to buy anything from a cup of coffee to a new car.

Several technologies have emerged to facilitate payment, including simple text messaging, infra red, and radio frequency systems such as Bluetooth and near field communication (NFC).

The problem is uncertainty over which will predominate. As with video recording in the 1980s, the myriad companies keen to participate in mobile payments are worried about making the wrong technical choice. They don’t want to be a Betamax equivalent in a world of VHS.

“It is still early days, and the lack of services using existing standards is making mobile payments relatively slow to take off,” says Ted Bissell, managing consultant at PA Consulting in New York.

NFC, the most technically advanced option, stores relevant information on a chip and has been installed on some Android handsets for three years. Yet relatively few customers have used it because most service providers have not yet activated the chip for financial products.

Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone does not include NFC, and the company remains publicly uncommitted as to whether it will be built into iPhones in future.

There has been some progress. Last year saw: the launch of Google’s Android-based eWallet and MasterCard’s PayPass in the US, while in the UK Starbucks trialled the Quick Tap PayPass service, and in France BNP Paribas and Orange introduced NFC mobile payments.

But with industry practices not yet established, it is unclear whether customers would easily be able to switch between services and suppliers. “The operators are still bickering about who will control the mobile wallet,” says Mr Bissell.

“Many customers may not want to be ‘locked in’ to one company or consortium. Legislators are looking at it, to the discomfort of participants such as mobile operators,” he adds.

One mobile payment technology based on well established standards is M-PESA, which is has proved hugely popular in Kenya and Tanzania. It enables people without bank accounts to settle bills and transfer funds via text message.

The funds are held in accounts managed by the mobile operator Safaricom. “Some 80 per cent of the population adopted M-PESA within five years of launch, and similar uptake is expected in Bangladesh, Pakistan and South America,” Mr Bissell says.

In these regions, there is a lack of banking infrastructure and text-based payments work well because they are more secure than cash. However, they are unlikely to be approved by regulators in more developed regions.

Even NFC is not seen as particularly secure, says Keith Brown, chief executive of Paythru, which enables people to transfer funds via the cloud for applications such as parking charges.

The maximum budget limit of £100 for NFC transactions has not been increased in the three years since it was introduced. This suggests not much progress has been made on security, says Mr Brown.

“By using the cloud, nothing is stored on the phone, making the system much more safe and secure.” People will authenticate themselves with biometrics such as fingerprint or voice identification, he says.

One reason why mobile payment has not taken off in the developed world is that there is no compelling reason to use it, says Benjamin Ensor, a director at Forrester Research. “There are no payments that you can only use mobile for. It lacks the sort of trigger that PayPal had on eBay.

The fact that there are always alternatives means people will use the system they are familiar with, Mr Ensor says.

He believes one of the biggest opportunities could be creating an easy way to pay small traders such as taxi drivers, music teachers or sports clubs, for which cheques are typically used. Companies focused on this market include US-based Square, and iZettle, headquartered in Sweden.

As for establishing a standard, Mr Ensor says there is no reason why only one technology should dominate or be the winner; there could be several approaches.

“The danger of financial institutions focusing too much on standards is in missing the boat. It increases the likelihood of an outsider such as Apple, Google or PayPal coming in and catalysing the business, leaving the banks flat-footed behind.”

Another impetus could be the ability to offer real time vouchers and coupons relevant to people’s location.

Technology is accelerating and unleashing creativity, Mr Ensor says. “In the past two years, we have seen a lot of change and we think there is quite a big chance for a disrupter to come in, perhaps using existing processes and networks in a new way that is faster, cheaper and better.”

The list of companies competing for a slice of what most believe will be a huge market, is formidable. It includes mobile operators, banks, handset manufacturers, operating system suppliers, e-commerce companies, retailers and social networks.

There need to be standards, says Mr Ensor. The last thing anybody wants is systems that are not interoperable.

“But whereas we only needed one way to record TV, VHS or Betamax, there is no reason why we shouldn’t have several standards to make mobile payments depending, for example, on whether we are buying petrol at the pump, paying a utilities bill, or shopping online.”

To read the whole interview click on the link below:

http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/cash-points

By Lindsay Martin

Retail Gazette – 15/12/2011

http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/32033-uk-consumers-are-biggest-online-shoppers

By Lindsay Martin

MNOs role in mobile financial services (MFS) is “being a pipe”
MFS at point-of-sale are very difficult
“anyone who is confident that NFC is going to be the winner is deluding themselves”

Looking at the different types of MFS (mobile payments, mobile money, mobile banking, etc), the only place where MNO involvement is necessary is mobile money, for the rest their services can be contracted. MNOs only have a shot at MFS in developing countries with large unbanked populations making them a “pipe” for all other MFS. Also, it has become obvious that MM offerings in general are not profitable and make sense only as a value added service helping MNOs decrease churn and increase customer retention. Thus, MNOs will never make a lot of money from MFS.

The case for MFS at point-of-sale is very weak to inexistent unless the offering can add something to the experience such as speed, loyalty points, discounts; few MFS solutions do that, and particularly not NFC. Our pay-at-table solution is an example of an extra service that makes a case for MFS at POS.

When at a restaurant with a large group of people, paythru pay-at-table speeds up and facilitates the check out process. pay-at-table eliminates the need for everyone calculating how much they owe and waiting for the waiter to come with the POS terminal and process each customer’s card. Our solution allows for the payment to be processed without any further interaction with the staff after they have presented the bill to the customer. The bill contains a unique identifier in the form of either a barcode or a PIN that the user enters into their mobile phone, which brings up an itemized bill. The customer can decide what items or percentage of the total amount they want to pay using their card.

Regarding NFC – there is nothing more to say. NFC has place in the MFS world but is not a game changer and will not have an impact on the payments industry such as cards have had in replacing cash and facilitating payments.

David concluded that a successful solution would have to be great. I would like elaborate on that. In order for a solution to be great, it has be:
Secure
Agnostic – any phone, any bank, any mobile network, anywhere, anytime.
Without an amount limit
Go beyond just payment processing

And this is what paythru is!

*Reserve Bank of Atlanta “The Future of Mobile Payments”

http://www.frbatlanta.org/podcasts/transcripts/paymentsspotlight/111116_evans.cfm?d=1&series=

By Diana Boncheva

See the article on “Levelling the land: Regulators boost competition” and “Within touching distance” below:

http://np.netpublicator.com/netpublication/n98952606

By Lindsay Martin

Look at who gocard are up against in the Best New Prepaid Card Product of the Year category……

gocard and Corner Bank – gocard

Orange and Barclaycard – Orange Cash Card

Paypal and PrePay Solutions – PayPal Access Card

Post Office and Clydesdale Bank – Post Office Travel Money Card Plus

Telefonica Ireland and Raphaels Bank – The O2 Money Card

Thomas Cook and Raphaels Bank – Thomas Cook Cash Passport Clubbers Card

For the full list of finalists for The Card and Payments Awards 2012 click on the link below:

www.cardandpaymentsawards.com

“This survey reflects much of what we are seeing across a variety of markets throughout the world. The mobile phone has significant potential to transform the way goods are purchased, and indeed how consumers interact with brands. For these predictions to become a reality, it is critical that mobile payments don’t require any fundamental change in behaviour. Mass market adoption of mobile payments is dependent on people experiencing the same benefits as traditional payments. Hence, it is important to adhere to accepted security standards that exist in card payments. Similarly, people will want guarantees that it is easy to receive refunds in the event that a merchant fails to deliver the goods, or worse goes bankrupt.”

Read the whole article here:

http://mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/content/wallets-way-out-says-paypal

Although it’s not being launched in Europe until 2012, the service can still be used internationally…in any of the 300,000 shops (and New York Taxis) that take MasterCard PayPass payments.

Osama Bedier, VP of Google payments, is quoted on the Guardian website as saying that Google eventually want to allow all payment cards to be used when topping up the Google wallet – with the eventual goal of replacing the traditional wallet.

We know that mobile wallets and NFC can be a good way to carry out in-store micro-payment transactions, but for the service to reach its potential a number of factors must come into play.

1. Significant take-up of the terminals by stores – retailers cannot invest in every new payment technology that comes along, and some will wait to see which proves the most popular with consumers before they take the plunge.
2. That the terminals in participating stores are in use – employees have to be trained on how the system works so that they can help customers confidently.
3. Consumer take-up – the more restrictions placed on the service, the less take-up there will be. If you need a certain phone, provider and credit card take-up will be less than it could have been.
4. Consumer confidence – customers have to feel secure using the system, otherwise they won’t take that initial step. There’s a big difference between downloading an app and actually using it.
5. Consumer habit – customers have to use the new system enough to make it their default payment method. The aim is to get them reaching for their phone rather than scrambling around for cash.

We know that larger payments can work well over mobile, because customers can – and do – go to a retailers msite and can use their credit or debit card to shop wherever they are, for how ever much they desire. They know and trust the payment method, and can use it on any Internet enabled phone or tablet. It’s this kind of universality that mobile wallet and NFC providers have to provide to see real results.

By Keith Brown