UNI

T-1
I
NTRODUCTI
ONTOMOBI
LECOMMERCE
Essayquest
ions
(
Q1)
Whati
sM-
commer
ceandexpl
ainscopeofM-
commer
ce?
M-commerce(mobi
lecommer ce)isthebuyingandsell
ing ofgoodsandservices
t
hroughwi
rel
esshandhel
ddev i
cessuchassmart
phonesandtabl
ets.M-commer
ceisa
f
orm ofe-
commercethatenablesuser
stoaccessonli
neshoppingplat
for
mswithout
t
heuseofadeskt
opcomput er
.
M-commer cewasintr
oducedbyt heKev
inDuff
eyin1977att
hegl obalf
orum l
aunch
andisdef
inedasaninnovat
ivewayofdoi
ngbusi
nessovert
hei
nter
net.
ScopeofM-
commer
ce

I
nadevel
opingage,I
ndi
ahasbecomealar
gemar ketofthesmar
tphonesandgadget
s
andmaj
oragegroupoft
hecust
omeri
sbetween20-55years.

Invari
oussurveys,i
tisnoti
cedthatal
most50%oftheusersgrabthei
rmobil
ephones
i
mmedi atel
yafterwakeupandchecksmul ti
plenot
ifi
cat
ionsandmessageswhi ch
engagethem i
nt heappl
icat
ionsshowi
ngof
fer
sandsaleoff
eri
ngdiscount
sinmonet
ary
ter
ms.

Ty
pesofM-
commer
ce

Thesear
ethemaj
orl
yusedt
ypesofM-
commer
ce:

1.Mobi
lebanking:
Mobi l
ebanki
ngisanel
ect
roni
cmedium ofmanagi
ngandmaking
bankt
ransact
ionsvia-
amobiledev
icewhi
chi
sv er
ypopul
arnow adaysuchas“Net
Banki
ng”bywhichcustomerhasabankaccounti
narespect
ivebankcanhandl
ethei
r
bankaccountaswellascanv i
ew hi
s/herbanki
ngdet
ail
sforwhichbanksusethei
r
appsformobil
ebanki
ng.

Forexampl
e,St
atebankofI
ndi
ahasaYONOappf
ort
hei
rnetbanki
ngf
unct
ions.

2.Mobi l
eshoppi
ng:Mobil
eshoppingi
snot hi
ngbutwhatwecal l
edonli
neshoppingin
generalter
ms,i.e.
,purchase made t
hrough var
ious appl
i
cati
ons onl
ine such as,
purchaseofthebookfr
om amaz onorpurchaseofabottl
efrom Fl
i
pkartist
ermedas
mobi l
eshoppi
ng.

3.Mobi l
epayment:Onl
i
net ransact
ionpaymentsuchasbuy i
ngrai
lwayticket
s,mov i
e
ti
ckets,bil
lpaymentst hr
ough mobi l
e phones by way ofvari
ous gateways and
appli
cati
onssuchasPhonePay ,GooglePay
,isknownasMobilepay
ment.

4.Mobi
leadver
ti
si
ng:
Mobileadvert
isi
ngi
sawayofadv
ert
isi
ngt
hroughSMS,mobi
l
e
webpost
ers,
push-
upnot
if
icat
ions.

Compani
esusethisser
vicetopromotethei
rpr
oductsandservi
cesbygivingt
hei
radsin
bet
weenthecontent
sgener al
l
ysearchedbytheuserssothatiftherei
sanyuserwho
hasaplanofpurchasi
ngt hei
rcategor
yofproductwil
lrevi
ew theirpr
oductandthei
r
sal
ewil
lri
se.

(
Q2)Li
stoutt
headv
ant
agesanddi
sadv
ant
agesofM-
commer
ce?

Mobi
lecommercehasemergedasanecessi
tyf
or21st
-cent
uryuser
s.Letusdi
scuss
someofi
tspr
ominentadv
ant
agesbel
ow:

Faci
l
itat
esBusi
nessTr
ansact
ions:Forsmal
lbusi
nessowner
s,mobi
l
ecommer
cehas
prov
edtobeabl essi
ng.SinceUPIandot
herpay
mentmodeshav
eexpedi
tedsmal
l
busi
nesst
ransact
ionsinst
antl
y.

1.Cost-
Effect
iveness:Theuser
scanincr
edibl
ysaveont r
avell
i
ngtobanks,mar
ket
,
theat
res,et
c.whileavai
li
ngmult
ipl
erel
atedser
vicesonjustacl
i
ck.

2.Cust
omerAcqui
sit
ion:Thesell
ersandservi
ceprov
ider
scanpr ocur
eandconv
ert
di
ver
sif
iedmobi
l
euser s(i
.e.
,pr
ospect
iveconsumers)i
ntocust
omer s.

3.Wide-spr
eadMar ketPenetr
ati
on:Whi
lethelocalsel
l
ersfi
nditdi
ffi
cul
ttoreach
outtheglobalconsumers,
m-commerceprov
idesthem wi
thaplat
for
mt oexpl
ore
alar
gepot ent
ialmarket
.

4.Eff
ici
entMar
ket
ingTool
:Theconsumer ’
sprefer
enceandrequi
rementscanbe
j
udgedwitht
hehelpoflocat
iontr
acki
ngandgoogl esear
chanalysi
s.Thus,m-
commercepr
ovestobeasuperi
ormarket
ingtoolf
oror
gani
zati
ons.

5.ExtendedVariet
y:Throughm-commer ce,t
hebuyer
scanchooseamongahuge
assortmentofproductsorser
vicesonamobil
edevi
ce.

6.EnhancesCust
omerExperience:I
tsi
mpl
ifi
esbusi
nesstransacti
onsandot her
dai
lychor
esoftheconsumerstopr
ovi
det
hem wi
thexcept
ionaluserexper
ience.

7.CompactandEaseofAccessi bi
li
ty:Amobi
l
eismuchmoretodaythanjusta
cal
li
ngdevice.I
tshandybuil
d-upmakesi
taconv
eni
entopt
ionforcar
ryi
ngout
var
iouse-
commer ceact
ivi
ti
es.

8.PromotesOmnichannelRetai
li
ng:Mobil
ecommercefaci
li
tat
estheint
egrat
ionor
combinat
ion ofmulti
ple channel
sto smoothen t
he busi
ness f
uncti
ons and
enhancetheconsumers’
shoppingexper
ience.

Di
sadv
ant
agesofM-
commer
ce

M-commercehasdefini
tel
ymadel
i
vesbet
ter
,butwecannotov
erl
ooki
tsv
ari
ous
dr
awbacksasel
abor
atedbelow:
 1.Low Rat
esofCust omerRetent
ion:Whenpri
cecomparisonamongt hevari
ous
buyi
ngoptionsonamobi l
ecommer ceplat
formisexceptional
l
yeffor
tl
ess,i
t
becomesreall
ydi
ff
icul
tfort
hecompaniest
oretai
nthei
rcustomers.

2.Networ korConnect i
vi
tyI
ssues:Mobil
enetworksar
enotthatef
fici
entandl
acka
professionalspeed.Thi
slackofconnect
ivi
tyhasposedatremendouschal
l
enge
forconduct i
ngm- commerceacti
vi
ti
es.

3.Appl
icat
ionLoopholes:Themobil
eappli
cati
onsinit
iat
evari
ousm-commerce
act
ivi
ti
es,butthesemobil
eappsrequi
reti
met otimeupdati
on.Al
so,att
imes
someoft heseappscr
ashdownshowi
ngpoorperf
ormance.

4.SmallMobil
ePhoneDispl
ay:Whencomparedt
oacomputerorl
apt
op,amobil
e
devi
celacksabi
gscreen.Thus,br
owsi
ngmult
ipl
eopt
ionsov
eramobil
ephone
becomesquit
estr
essf
ulfort
heuser’
seyes.

5.Securi
tyI
ssues:Ithasbeenv eryeasyforhacker
st ost
ealuser
’si
nfor
mati
on
fr
om thei
rmobiledevi
ces.Theref
ore,m-
commer ceispr
onetosecur
it
yri
skand
misuseofuseri
nfor
mation.

6.Expensiv
eM- commerceSoft
ware:Forthebusinessor
gani
zat
ionswhi
ch are
l
ookingforwardt
om- commer
ceexpansi
on,l
aunchingamobi
leappori
nst
all
ing
anm- commercesof
twarei
sacostl
yaff
air
.

7.ExcessiveLegalCompliance:M-commerceande- commer ceplatf

ormsconnect
thelocalbusi
nessorganizati
onstotheglobalmarket.However,thetaxandlegal
barr
iersinvol
vedincross-sel
li
ngacrossdiff
erentcountr
iescreateli
mitat
ionsfor
suchcompani es.

(
Q3)
Expl
aint
hest
ruct
ureofmobi
l
ecommer
cef
ramewor
k?

Despi
te oft he descr
ibed li
mitati
ons,numberofpeople per
for
ming m-commer ce
tr
ansact
ionsaregrowingexponent i
ally
.Asi n-commer ceprovi
desmobi
l
itytobusyprofessionals,
moreandmor epeopl
et endt oaccessi nter
netthroughtheirmobi
l
ephones.Peopl
efindi tmor e
conveni
entt
oshiftf
rom e-commer cetom- commer ce.
Inor dertomaket hesevalue-
addedser vi
ceswor keff
icient l
y,andi nacost -ef f
ectivemanner ,
perfectcoll
aborati
onbet weenv ari
ousnet workpr ovi
ders,technologypr ov i
dersandappl icationdev el
oper sis
required.I
nor dertoi ntegratediff
erentmobi l
eser vi
ces,applicati
onsandt echnologiesi nawel l
-coordinated
andcont r
oll
edar chit
ect ure,amobi l
ecommer cef r
amewor kneedst obedev eloped.Thepur poseoft he
framewor kistodev el
opast ruct
uredi nt
egrati
onofmobi l
eserv i
ces,applicationsandt echnologyr esour cesso
thatitwi l
lbeablet odel i
verdiver
ser angeofv alue-
addedser vi
cesindi ff
erenti ndustrysect ors)andatt he
samet i
meaimt or educeoper ati
ngcostandi mproveeffi
ciencytoat t
ractt heenduserpopul ation.

Themobi
l
ecommer
cef
ramewor
kconsi
stsoft
hef
ourbasi
cbui
l
dingbl
ocksas
f
oll
ows:
 1.ContentManagement
2.TechnologyInf
rast
ructur
es
3.Applicat
ionDevel
opment
4.BusinessServi
ceInfr
astr
uct
ure

Cont
entManagement
Thi
scomponentdeal swi ththecr eat
ion,
di st
ributi
onandmanagementofdi verserange
ofmedi arichdigitalcontentst hatcanbebr owsedt hrought hesmal lscreensoft hemobi l
e
devices.Thedigitalcontent sareusedi nper f
ormingv ari
ousbusi nesst r
ansact i
onssuchas
buyingandsel l
i
ngofgoods,maki ngonlinepay ment s,productpromosandpr ovidi
ngonl i
ne
customersuppor t.Ani mpor tantpartofcont entmanagementi st heabili
tyt otrackdif
fer
ent
contentprovi
dersandmai ntainandmanaget herelati
onshipsamongt hem.Thesecur i
tyand
authenti
cit
yofthecont entsmustbeguar anteedandt heaccesscont r
olmechani sm mustbe
providedtopreventunwant eduser sf
rom mi susingthedocument .
Thiscomponentdeal swi ththedist r
ibuti
onofdi git
al cont entsandt ransactiondet ail
sov er
wir
elesscommuni cati
onnet workstocust omerl ocati
onsorot herbusinessi nstall
ations.The
wir
elessnet workinfr
astr
uct ureprovidest heveryfoundat ionofmobi l
ecommer ceframewor k
asitfulfil
l
sthebasicrequir ementsofdat atr
ansmi ssionbet weenv ariousbusi nesspar tners
whi l
eper for
minganybusi nesst ransaction.Thet echnologyi nf
rastructureincludeswi reless
communi cati
ont echnology ,
Wi rel
essAppl icati
onPr otocol (
WAP)andmobi lesecur it
y
t
echnology .Thesetechnol
ogi esneedt osuppor tdigitalcont entdistri
bution,mobi leappl i
cation
developmentanddi stri
but i
onandal soprovideasecur et echnologicalplatformf ormobi l
e
bil
li
ngandpr epai
dser vi
cest hrought heuseofmobi l
eVi r
tual PrivateNet works( VPN) .Figure
depictst heMobi l
eCommer ceFr amewor k.

Appl
i
cat
ionDev
elopment
Theappl
i
cati
ondevel
opmentcomponentofmobi
lecommer cef
rameworkdeal
swi
tht
he
div
erser
angeofmobilecommerceappl
i
cati
ons.Themainpur
poseof
2.

(
Q4)
Dif
fer
encebet
weene-
commer
ceandm-
commer
ce?

E-
COMMERCE MCOMMERCE

Elect
roni
c Commerce i
n shor
titi
s Mobi
l
eCommercei
nshor
titi
scal
l
ed
call
edase-commer
ce. asm-
commer
ce.

M-commer ceacti
vi
tiesar eperf
ormed
Ingeneral
,e-commerceact
ivi
ti
esare witht hehel
pofmobi ledev i
ceslike
per
formedwi ththehelpofdesktop smar t
phones, tablets, PDA’s
computersandlapt
ops. (Personal
Digi
tal
Assi st
ant)etc.

E-
commer
cei
sanol
derconcept
. M-
commer
cei
sannewerconcept
.
Itisbroad t
erm whi
chr ef
ersdoing I
tissubcategor
yofecommercewhi
ch
shoppi
ng and maki ng pay ments doesthesamet hi
svi
amobil
edevi
ce
onli
newi t
hhelpofel
ectr
onicdev
ices
l
ikeLaptopandcomputer
s

Buti n case ofm- commer

ce some
I
ne-commercet
heuseofi
nter
neti
s acti
vit
ies can be per
for
med wi
thout
mandat
ory i
nternetalso

I
tsr eachabi
li
tyiscomparat
ivel
ylow It
sreachabi
lit
yismor ethanthatofe-
thanthem- commer ceasi
tisnotso commer ce only due t
ot he use of
goodinpor t
abi
li
ty. mobil
edev i
ces.

In m- commerce locat
ion tracking
capabil
it
ies i
s so good as mobi l
e
In e-commerce locat
ion t
racki
ng appstrackandident
if
yuserlocations
capabi
li
ti
esarel
imit
edduetot
henon- withthehelpofGPSt echnol
ogy ,Wi-
port
abil
it
yofdev
ices. Fi,
andsoon.

I
nm- commercepushnot
if
icat
ioncan
E-
commer
cef
ail
sinpushnot
if
icat
ion. beachiev
ed

E-
commer
cedev
elopedi
n1970’
s. M-
commer
cedev
elopedi
n1990’
s.

Exampl
es of E-commerce incl
ude Exampl es ofM-commer
ce includes
Amazon,Fl
i
pkar
t,Qui
kr,
Olxwebsit
es. mobi l
e banking li
ke payt
m,in-app
purchasingAmazonmobi
leapp.