Jul 10
MikeGeneral Business Practices, Web & Legal eCommerce, mobile ecommerce, paypal
According to Ebay mobile is the future of ecommerce, a view which is reinforced by recent figures from Juniper Research which predict mobile payments will reach $200 billion over the next 18 months. So it is natural for Ebay for to want to ensure it is top of the tree when it comes to mobile payments through Paypal.
Paypal launched an app for smartphone transactions only last year and as the uptake of smartphones have increased so has the growth in mobile transactions. This year alone Paypal has predicted a turnover of more than $500 million in mobile payments and that more than 5 million of its members will be actively using Paypal via their mobiles. Now they have made it even easier to pay for goods through smartphones with the release of the new Mobile Express Checkout app.
Up until now checkout procedures could be time consuming so this new app aims to streamline the process with a one-click buying option. If you have regularly bought goods from Amazon you will already be familiar with this type of service, which stores consumer’s shipping and payment details for the next time they place an order. All a customer will need to do is login with their Paypal account details.
Of course, making payments through smartphones have been met with some concern over fraud, identity theft and the like. Paypal however says the new app has been optimized specifically for smartphones and features strong fraud detection.
Initially the app has been released to users of the iPhone and Android 2.0 or higher and is only available to customers of a select few retailers like Nike and Buy.com. Paypal are working to make the app available to more retailers over the coming months.
The launch of this app means that Paypal’s 85 million users will now be able to purchase goods via their smartphones faster than before and unlike other mobile payment apps, users will not have to input their credit card details each and everytime. Users of smartphones are sure to welcome this as inputting shipping and billing details on a phone is an arduous task at the best of times! So it would seem that Paypal gets a jump on the competition once again and is leading the way when it comes to the future of automated mobile payments and mobile ecommerce. I don’t doubt though that Mastercard et al will soon be following suit!
Jun 02
MikeWeb Industry CMS, eCommerce, Magento, magento mobile, mobile ecommerce
This week, Magento launched its new mobile commerce platform, Magento Mobile. For those of you who already run ecommerce websites powered by Magento you will already be aware of how powerful this software is. Now with the launch of its new mobile app, you can easily create your own branded storefront apps which are integrated with the Magento platform. The new software includes an administrative manager, a fully customizable iPhone app and a Magento managed submission and maintenance service for the iTunes app store.
Magento Mobile offers merchants a fully customizable and seamless storefront integration for mobile applications. It allows you to easily integrate your full store catalog, checkout procedures, inventory and full reporting and admin features. There are also device specific features and a choice of branded themes to select. Your mobile storefront can also be further customized with colors and images which will update on users mobiles even after they have downloaded the app.
Outdoor product retailer, The North Face, is one of the first market leading companies to use the new Magento Mobile commerce app, which soon become available to more countries around the globe for users of the iPhone. So what can Magento Mobile commerce offer you?
- Storefront Integration: As mentioned above, you can seamlessly integrate you existing website into the app with all your products, checkout facilities and enjoy admin features such as reporting and stock control.
- Manage Multiple Devices: you can easily manage multiple devices with just one installation. Later this year Magento hopes to extend the app to the iPad and android devices.
- Hassle Free Management: managing mobile apps can be time consuming so Magento offers to manage them for you for a low cost monthly fee.
- Fully Customizable: you can alter the appearance of your storefront to promote your brand and match it to your existing website. Any changes you make will automatically appear even if users have already downloaded the app.
- Low Cost: you pay only for the features and devices you want to use, while Magento will manage the ongoing maintenance for you.
Currently, this app is available on a limited release so if you want to know more you will need to sign up through the Magento website. There will also be a webinar on June 23 presented by Tim Schultz who will give a 60 minute presentation about the new app and also feature a Q and A session. Those who want access will need to sign up as spaces are limited.
Apr 02
MikeWeb Industry eCommerce, Magento, Open Source
Whilst there have been many different ecommerce solutions available for free for some years now, they have all tended to lack that professional touch that can only be achieved by spending thousands getting a web developer to do it for you. But with the launch of Magento comes a powerful ecommerce platform packed with features and the kind of flexibility that was sorely lacking in previous ecommerce solutions.
Developed under open source license it offers users the opportunity to build ecommerce websites that look professional and offers complete control over content, features and the customer experience of their store. To date it has been downloaded over 1.5 million times and has more than 50,000 merchants currently using it to power their business. Even top names such as 3M, Lenovo and Samsung have Magento intergrated into their sites.
Underlining their status as the fastest growing ecommerce solution available, Magento has recently received a capital injection of $22.5 million which the company says will help them to develop as the largest ecommerce solution in the world, providing additional features such as mobile commerce offering and a number of other products and services due to be released this year.
The Magento Community Edition is free to download and is recommended for developers and users with some knowledge and the technical ability to spend time and resources developing sites to their needs. There is no support offered by Magento for this edition and instead an extensive community of users has grown via the forum, for help and advice on issues and problems. Those looking for a supported version can opt for Magento Enterprise, which does have many more functions and features compared to the Community Edition, but comes with a price tag of $11,125 per year.
I first came across Magento several months ago and was instantly seduced by its look and flexibility, as well as the free price tag! Downloading is not a one click installation however, and some users may have to upgrade their hosting package to be able to install it. However, once you have it up and running it is easy to navigate around the admin panel, change themes and install new modules to aid in the functionality of a site.
These add-on modules, of which there are now over 2000 available, are one of the key attractions to Magento by developers and merchants alike. Sites can essentially be tailor made by adding or removing modules as required. But whilst Magento may seem to be the ideal solution for all who dream of a professional looking ecommerce site, it is not without its technical problems, which is why users with little or no knowledge of developing such sites could struggle.
As developers of many ecommerce websites we have used various different ecommerce solutions and shopping carts, but Magento has out performed all of them, proving itself worthy of being one of the best ecommerce solutions available today and our first choice when it comes to ecommerce websites for our clients.
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