International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)

ISSN: 2277-3878,Volume-8, Issue- 1C2, May 2019

Mobile Commerce Potentials and

Challenges: India Case Study
Yousef A.Baker El-Ebiary, Najeeb Abbas Al-Sammarraie

Abstract: This study aims to highlight the present situation

and status of commerce in India particularly mobile commerce or
M-commerce is in fact a progeny of e-commerce.
M-commerce. At present time, mobile phones including smart Accordingly, m-commerce is not a limited form of e-
phones, I-pad and tablets are common items to people, and they commerce. Instead, m-commerce encompasses a distinctive
are now highly affordable. Users of mobile phones have form of e-commerce that carries its own distinctive benefits.
significantly increased in number, and the bandwidth consumed Relevantly, the use of m-commerce falls within two
is large as well. Meanwhile, e-commerce applications are very categories namely content delivery and transactions [6]. In
common today but there is still hesitance among people towards
m-commerce use, owing to the issues associated with security and
regards to content delivery, it encompasses consultation,
payment, in addition to the complexity of mobile application. It is notification, order confirmation, feedback and tracking, just
projected that the future will witness different form of sales and to name a few. Meanwhile, transactions data entry entail,
services. Accordingly, problems have arisen in the m-commerce purchasing, paying, checkouts, and maintenance. Hence,
implementation on the sides of users, provider, as well as with the aforementioned functions in m-commerce, users
business. Meanwhile, the application providers are obliged to could make purchases on items more easily. Relevantly, the
consider the type and needs of users. Hence, this paper will detail
the issues faced by both users and providers in the context of increase in the penetration of Smartphone’s from 8% in
India. 2014 to over 21% in 2017 has provided assurance of the
Index Terms: E-business, m-commerce, mobile adoption, readiness of the mass population towards m-commerce [7].
technological innovation. In the context of India, m-commerce market was
projected to expand at a CAGR of71.06 % till 2016. Today,
I. INTRODUCTION there are approximately 44 million users of Smartphone and
M-Commerce refers to the exchange of goods using the the number is expected to expand 150% yearly.
medium of the Internet through mobile phones. Alternately, Furthermore, a survey carried out by The Associated
m-Commerce is describable as the applications and services Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India found Delhi
that are dramatically available via the Internet-enabled as the city most adapted to e-commerce, while Mumbai and
mobile devices [1]. Additionally, it encompasses innovative Ahmed Abad took the second and third place. As indicated
technologies, services and business models. Considering by KPMG, 30% of shopping queries is made via mobile
that this technology is mobile, user can take it everywhere phones [8], [9].
with them. Hence, user could search the nearest food trucks,
make payment for items at a store, or even communicate II. LITERATURE REVIEW
with peers [2]. Considering that the Internet is now In India, m-commerce is still in its development stage and
associated with user’s use of resources (money) to make its adoption is rather complex. At current time, the uses of
purchases, it has become personal, and so are the devices mobile phones are no longer limited to making phone calls;
used in accessing it [3]. mobile phones can now be used in accessing websites, for
At present time, mobile phones are equipped with the chatting, and also shopping (just to name a few). In the
capacity to identify the phone numbers of friends and situation of India, the use of m-commerce has both benefits
colleagues, and they could even track the location of user. It and drawbacks [10]. Among the advantages include
is therefore not impossible for these devices to replace mobility, user friendly, and so forth, while the drawbacks
user’s credit cards and even wallets [4].Intuitively, it is also include language barrier, poor graphic resolution, small
possible to perceive future mobile phones to have the number of users of mobile phone etc. In India, albeit its
capacity in foreseeing the desires and needs of users and act newness, the use of Smartphone has dramatically increased.
upon them including making spontaneous taxi arrangements Relevantly, among the drivers of m-commerce growth
to fetch user following the adjournment of business include immediate connectivity, factor of Personalization
meetings or furnishing users with recaps of news and and mobility, localization, and so forth [11].
messages from colleagues [5]. Still, in order that these Additionally, the use of m-commerce in India has been
changes could efficiently materialize, the primary issues of linked to purchases of ticketing, e-auction, entertainment,
interoperability, usability, security, and privacy have to be and so forth.M-Commerce has indeed transformed people’s
addressed. life as well as their method of engaging in business [12].
The use of m-commerce enables the attainment of
knowledge just through phones, and using m-commerce, one
Revised Manuscript Received on May 15, 2019.
YousefA.Baker El-Ebiary, Faculty of Informatics and Computing,
UniSZA University, Malaysia.
Najeeb Abbas Al-Sammarraie, Faculty of Computer and Information
Technology, MEDIU, Malaysia.

Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Retrieval Number: A12030581C219/19©BEIESP 1154 & Sciences Publication
 International Conference on Emerging trends in Engineering, Technology, and Management (ICETETM-2019) |
26th-27th April 2019 | PDIT, Hospet, Karnataka

can also access andmanage his/her bank accounts, escape This application assists customers in making orders on
parking rush, health issues etc. Somehow, the arising issues the phone.
linked to m-commerce include the issues of security and  Mobile Marketing Apps: Among the popular apps is
insufficient speed which could deter user from making Mobile Deals and it allows users of mobile phone to
purchases and payments online [13]. obtain a lot of discounts, as well as purchase deals on-
Technologies of wireless mobile and the link between e- the-go. In fact, it is common for restaurants, bars or
commerce and m-commerce assist businesses in recognizing shops to offer a lot of deals, and the app may even
what is derivable from m-commerce, the building blocks of employ features of GPS in finding deals that are nearest
e-commerce and m-commerce, as well as the types of to the mobile user. Another popular app is Mobile
applications of m-commerce. Meanwhile, the concept of m- Coupons. This app encompasses a tool of marketing
commerce has been defined by many and its acceptance has tool. In the use of this app, user needs to specify the
been evidenced in the society at all levels [14].Notably, the store.
use of m-commerce is expansive; for Education, Traffic,
 Retail Store Apps: Flipkart, Firstcy, and Amzon.in are
TravelandTicketing, Health care, and so forth. Aside from among the retail store apps that assist user in their
India, in countries including China and Brazil, m-commerce online purchases.
use appeared to have increased from years2010 to
 Social and Gaming Apps: Through the integration with
2011.Alongside the increase in usage, providers of m-
payment systems, apps of mobile gaming have begun to
commerce have been urged to improve user interface, and
integrate the in-game content purchase, and the app
employ innovative pricing structures. Meanwhile, among
store is accessible using nearly all operating
the employed technology protocols in m-commerce include
systems(e.g., Android or iOs or Symbian, etc.).
GPRS, WAP, GSM, UMTS, and so forth. However, the
 Banking Apps: The services of mobile banking are
technicalities of these protocols will not be detailed in this
popular nowadays more than ever. In fact, all leading
paper [15].
banks in India provide countless types of banking
services for instance bill payments, credit card
III. CURRENT SCENARIO OF M-COMMERCE IN
payments, and real-time personalized messages to
INDIA
consumers, and so forth. Among the banks that provide
The popularity of m-commerce usage in India is caused such services in India include Bank of Baroda, Axis,
by many factors, and these include the factor of cost. In fact, and SBI.
the price of devices today has considerably decreased. One major advantageous feature of mobile phones is their
Hence, the public are now able to own the devices at portability and availability at all times. Today, mobile
judicious price. This easy availability due to cost has phones are much smaller but equipped with a lot more
facilitated the acclimatization of the public to the mobile capacities. Hence, mobile phones provide users with much
phones. It appears people from all walks of life in India are more convenience as opposed to laptops. Meanwhile, sites
users of Smart phones, and in fact, for every 100 mobile of m-commerce are accessible at all times. In regards to the
users, 74.16 users are in India. Globally, concerning mobile products sold online, they are fairly cheaper as opposed to
phone usage, India has been ranked second. In this country, those sold in physical stores. Furthermore, online customers
the Internet on mobile phones is effortlessly obtainable and often are offered with a lot of discounts, free shipping, and
at rates that are reasonable. coupons in their product purchase.
In India, the providers of mobile service are offering
internet connection for mobile phones at highly minimal IV. ISSUES IN USING M-COMMERCE
price and half of the population could afford it. In fact,
In the context of India, the concept of m-commerce is still
2013have seen the significant drop of prices of mobile
new, and in offering convenientand hassle-free shopping
phone internet rates. For instance, the rates of 3G were
experiences to the customers, companies of e-commerce are
dramatically reduced by 70%, while Reliance had slashed its
still testing the mobile sites and mobile apps. In this regard,
rates up to 90%, whereas the rates offered by Vodafone
a lot of companies are yet to decide ifthey would employ
went down by 80%. In addition, there are approximately 431
mobile-optimized websites or mobile apps. Nonetheless,
million mobile devices with internet abilities in India
owing to the lack of awareness, the use of m-commerce has
implying easy accessibility to m-commerce among all levels
not been as extensive in this country. In fact in India, while
of consumers.
it is true that users of Smartphone’s’ are many, a lot are
Accordingly, in the market of India, among the available
clueless regarding what can be done with them.Apart from
mobile applications are as follows:
that, a lot of users feel unsafe when making payments over
 Ticket Sales: This application assists users in booking
mobile phones.
their travel and entertainment tickets in the comfort of
Another issue is low internet connectivity (2G, 3G). In
their own homes. Among the sites include IRCTC, and
India, the 3G rates have dramatically dropped. Somehow,
Book my show, just to name a few. For airline ticket
there are phones that do not support 3G. Meanwhile, the
booking, among the popular sites is Sky scanner,
speed of 2G is too low for making purchases and payments.
whereas for hotels and accommodations search, Ixigo is
Not only that, albeit the reduction of 3G rates, they are still
among the popular sites.
 Restaurant Apps: Among the popular apps is Urban Q.
It helps customer in finding the neighboring restaurant.
Another popular application is Domino’s Pizza app.

Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Retrieval Number: A12030581C219/19©BEIESP 1155 & Sciences Publication
 International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878,Volume-8, Issue- 1C2, May 2019

unaffordable to a large chunk of users. 4G is also available commerce in this country, considering that wireless
but its availability is restricted to cities and certain areas in connections can be exposed to threats.
India such as Bangalore and Pune. Somehow, for 4G Furthermore, the use of the applications requires user to
connection, it is unaffordable to a lot of users as the required share their personal details with the service provider, and
device and connection rate is very costly. this means that user’s bank credentials, debit and credit
Aside from the low speed of internet, security issues have cards are also viewable by others during the apps usage,
also been reported by users. Accordingly, without the which might put the user at risk of data thefts. Also,
appropriate security software, users would be exposed to disturbance in connection can cause user to repeat the
threats from identity theft, hacking as well as purchasingprocess which can be a hassle. Success and
phishing.During apps usage, the personal details and bank failure of m-commerceare caused by many factors. It is
credentials fuser are used by the app store, and during therefore necessary for both government and provider in
payment, user is brought to the third party. During this time, India to identify the factors and make the appropriate efforts
if anything goes wrong, user would need to repeat the as countermeasures, in order that the success of m-
payment process or the order would be pending or commerce in this country can be achieved. In turn, m-
cancelled. In this regard, user will employ m-commerce commerce will become an integral part of life for the people
only if they are confident that the transactions made using in India.
their devices are secure.
As reported in ROPO (Research Online and Purchase VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Offline), the inclination of people is also a significant issue.
In India, a lot of users would only go online to view and This project is partially funded by the Research
Management, Innovation and Commercialization Center,
compare products rather than making the actual purchase.
Universiti Sultan ZainalAbidin.
As for making the purchase, many seem to prefer going to
the actual shop. Among the reasons for this is their
REFERENCES
reluctance in having to be bound by the online returning
policies. 1. K. C. Laudon, and C. G. Traver, E-Commerce: Business,
Technology, Society. England: Pearson, 2019.
Problems related to language have also been reported.
2. Y. A. B. El-Ebiary, W. A. Ulbeh, L. Y. A. Alaesa, and S.
Notably, the accessible apps are primarily presented in Hilles, "Mobile commerce in Malaysia-Opportunities and
English as it is the common language for apps. challenges," Advanced Science Letters, 24(6), 2018, pp. 4126-
Unfortunately, in the context of India, a lot of users are not 4128.
proficient in English, and even so, many are more 3. M. M. Alzubi, M. A. Alkhawlani, and Y. A. B. E. Ebiary,
comfortable using apps presented in their native language. "Investigating the factors affecting University students’e-
commerce intention towards: A case study of Jordanian
Somehow, till date, apps presented in regional languages are
universities," Journal of Business and Retail Management
few, and the available ones include apps in Tamil Seitegal, Research, 12(1), 2017, pp. 189-194.
and inTamil and Panchanga in Kannad, and so forth. Sites 4. E. Daniel, H. Wilson, and A. Myers, "Adoption of e-
for banking and purchasing are still primarily presented in commerce by SMEs in the UK: Towards a stage
English language. model," International Small Business Journal, 20(3), 2002, pp.
Another point worth noting is that technology lovers are 253-270.
5. A. H. Hassan, R. F. Manna, and Y. E. Ebiary, "The effect of
not necessarily technology users. Hence, it is common to see
trust based factors on using mobile commerce in
people carrying around with them state-of-the-art mobile Jordan," International Journal on Contemporary Computer
devices, and yet, they don’t use them for making purchases. Research, 1(2), 2017, pp. 1-7.
Among the possible reasons for this is the inability of the 6. A. H. Hassan, R. F. Manna, Y. A. Baker E. Ebiary, and N. A.
screen resolution and the catalogue in presenting the desired A. Sammarraie, "Evaluating trust-based factors influencing
product viewing. Mobile applications can also be uses m-commerce in Jordan," Advanced Science
Letters, 24(6), 2018, pp. 4308-4311.
complicated as opposed to e-commerce websites. In order to
7. H. T. Tsai, L. Huang, and C. G. Lin, "Emerging e-commerce
assure ease of use, it is crucial that m-commerce apps are development model for Taiwanese travel agencies," Tourism
fashioned in a manner that caters to the need of users. The Management, 26(5), 2005, pp. 787-796.
apps also need to be up-to-date with the current shopping 8. Y. A. B. El-Ebiary, "The effect of the organization factors,
trends. technology and social influences on e-government adoption in
Jordan," IEEE International Conference on Smart Computing
and Electronic Enterprise, 2018, pp. 1-4.
V. CONCLUSION
9. D. Chaffey, E-Business and E-Commerce Management,
M-Commerce is currently expanding its market in India Strategy, Implementation and Practice. New Jersey: Prentice
but not without having to deal with challenges and issues. Hall, 2011.
The use of m-commerce is spreading owing to the ease of 10. E. Constantinides, "The 4S web-marketing mix
model," Electronic Commerce Research and
availability of Smartphone in this country. Smartphone’s
Applications, 1(1), 2002, pp. 57-76.
allow people to perform countless of tasks including making 11. M. T. Lu, S. K. Hu, L. H. Huang, and G. H. Tzeng,
audio and video calls, viewing products and making "Evaluating the implementation of business-to-business m-
purchases online, and so forth, with ease and freedom, in commerce by SMEs based on a new hybrid MADM
just a few simple clicks. Countless of services are also model," Management
available through m-commerce including ticket booking, Decision, 53(2), 2015, pp.
290-317.
bank accounts and mail accounts management and so forth.
However, the issues of security are plaguing the use of m-

Published By:
Retrieval Number: A12030581C219/19©BEIESP 1156 & Sciences Publication
 International Conference on Emerging trends in Engineering, Technology, and Management (ICETETM-2019) |
26th-27th April 2019 | PDIT, Hospet, Karnataka

Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering

Retrieval Number: A12030581C219/19©BEIESP 1157 & Sciences Publication

 International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878,Volume-8, Issue- 1C2, May 2019

12. H. Khan, F. Talib, and M. N. Faisal, "An analysis of the

barriers to the proliferation of M-Commerce in Qatar: A
relationship modeling approach," Journal of Systems and
Information Technology, 17(1), 2015, pp. 54-81.
13. N. P. Rana, D. J. Barnard, A. M. A. Baabdullah, D. Rees, and
S. Roderick, "Exploring barriers of m-commerce adoption in
SMEs in the UK: Developing a framework using
ISM," International Journal of Information Management, 44,
2019, pp. 141-153.
14. Y. A. B. El-Ebiary, and S. M. S. Hilles, "Detection of Spam
on Amazon e-commerce platform," International Journal on
Contemporary Computer Research, 1(3), 2017, pp. 15-21.
15. J. Heinze, M. Thomann, and P. Fischer, "Ladders to m-
commerce resistance: A qualitative means-end
approach," Computers in Human Behavior, 73, 2017, pp. 362-
374.

Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Retrieval Number: A12030581C219/19©BEIESP 1156 & Sciences Publication