Social Commerce Now in "Hype" Phase

New things take a while to be understood and described. Consider "social commerce," which might be a way of describing a range of "shopping" or "purchasing" activities occurring on Facebook.

"Real" goods purchased from inside Facebook might be considered "online" shopping or "online commerce."

"Virtual goods" bought for a Facebook hosted game might be considered as a separate category.

More recently, Facebook has been used as a way of signaling customers to go buy something in a physical store. So the issue is how to describe the full range of commerce activities that Facebook and other sites are starting to support. "Social commerce" is a term some now use, since the activity can span online and physical locations, include digital as well as physical goods, be delivered either to the device, a physical location.
We’ve now progressed from using social media as a place to converse and share content, and as we build up trustworthiness in social channels we are becoming more comfortable with the idea of transferring money and allowing social technologies to transform the shopping experience.
So it might come as no surprise that "social commerce" is in a hype phase at the moment, as people look at ways to take social networks and shift them from conversations to shopping and banking. How money is changing social media

Mike Fauscette, IDC analyst, for example, predicts that in three to five years, 10 percent to 15 percent of total consumer spending in developed countries will occur through Facebook.

Social commerce projections

Device Usage Has Shifted from "Work" to "Play"

When digital devices first appeared, in the form of the personal computer, the initial applications were heavily work related.

Over the last few decades, as new digital appliances have emerged, most of them have been mostly for "play" or "personal" use.

Though notebooks, tablets and mobile phones can be used either for work or personal pursuits, the trend is towards use of devices for entertainment, personal communication, learning and expression, and less and less for "work."

A recent survey of European users by Forrester Research illustrates the trend. Asked what sorts of applications and activities they used their various devices for, it is pretty clear that the multi-purpose devices get used more often for play, personal reasons and entertainment, rather than "work."

The corollary probably is that application development has shifted overwhelmingly to personal, entertainment  and leisure time activities as well.

10% of U.S. Mobile Users Redeem Coupons, 20% of Smart Phone Users

Research firm eMarketer now estimates 19.8 million adults, or 9.5 percent of U.S. mobile phone users over 18, will redeem a mobile coupon in 2011, including coupons or codes received using text messaging (SMS), applications and mobile web browsers; quick response codes for redemption online or offline; and group buying coupons purchased via mobile.

In 2012,  the number of U.S. consumers who redeem mobile coupons will rise to 28.7 million, or 13.5 percent of adult mobile phone users, eMarketer estimates.

By 2013, the number using such coupons will nearly double, and 16.5 percent of all U.S. adult mobile phone users will redeem a coupon.

Led by smart phone owners, the number of U.S. mobile coupon users will increase by 80 percent  between 2011 and 2013, eMarketer predicts, climbing from 19.8 million to 35.6 million.

Outside of the US, mobile coupons have likewise proven popular among consumers, although adoption is far from uniform. Mobile users in Asia-Pacific, particularly those in Japan and South Korea, constitute something of a vanguard, while in Western Europe usage is most extensive in the United Kingdom.

Among smart phone users, penetration is significantly higher. In 2011, nearly one in five smartphone owners ages 18 and older will redeem a mobile coupon, representing annual growth of 117.6 percent.

Triple-digit uptake rates will be short-lived, but by 2013 almost one-third of smart phone users will be redeeming discounts on the go.

Mobile coupon demand

Report: Facebook Doubles Revenue

Facebook has doubled its revenue in the first half of 2011, Reuters reports. Facebook made $1.6 billion in the first six months of this year, nearly double what it made in the same time in 2010. Facebook doubles ad revenue

The largest portion of Facebook's revenue is believed to come from advertising, showing that the company has created a viable ad business. Facebook Doubles Revenue

It isn't yet clear what the composition of the advertising was, but display advertising is where Facebook has been growing rapidly, outpacing Yahoo, which had a big head start, and Google, which is growing its display revenue fast, a business it has not been part of, in the past.

Nor is it clear whether local ads have started to have impact. Many of us probably suspect Facebook has done best in national advertising.

HTC Sues Apple Using Mobile Patents Obtained From Google

Google has granted HTC the rights to nine mobile patents. HTC now has sued Apple for infringing those HTC patents. HTC Sues Apple Using Mobile Patents Obtained From Google

The nine patents originated with Palm Inc., Motorola Inc. and Openwave Systems Inc., with Google taking ownership within the past year, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records.

Google recorded transfer of the patents to HTC on Sept. 1, according to the agency’s website.

It isn't clear whether any of the Motorola patents were obtained as part of the recent Google purchase of Motorola Mobility.

HTC sued Apple today in federal court in Delaware, claiming infringement of four of those patents that originally were issued to Motorola. Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC also amended a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, alleging infringement of three patents first issued to Openwave and two others originally owned by Palm. Google transfers patents

HTC earlier had filed suit against Apple using an earlier collection of patents. HTC sues Apple

Mobile NFC: Japan and Korea Represent 95% of Users

The total number of smart phones shipped with near field communications should grow from 44 million in 2011 to more than 630 million in 2015, say researchers at Informa Telecoms and Media.

The number of active NFC or contactless-mobile users is expected to grow from 16.7 million in 2011 to 250 million in 2015. While 95 percent of the active users are currently in Japan and South Korea, that ratio should fall to 70 percent in 2015, thanks to growth in other regions, they said.

The analysts also predicted that the transaction value of mobile-NFC payments would rise from $2.4 billion this year to more than $71 billion in 2015. While more than 80 percent of the transaction activity was in Japan and South Korea in 2011, the ratio should fall below 40 percent in 2015, they said.

NFC mostly a Japan, Korea opportunity at moment

Taxonomy of Mobile Payments

Perhaps the nicest part of this infographic is its taxonomy of mobile payments. There are other ways to categorize the different types of mobile payments market segments.

Some of us might say the taxonomy doesn't address mobile wallet, mobile shopping, mobile promotion or peer-to-peer payments as key market segments, for example. But it's useful.

mobile payments segments