Mobile commerce, payments and marketing will dominate the mobile industry in 2012 according to a new survey. Nearly one quarter of companies questioned in a customer study from Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), a Velti Company, said m-commerce would be the biggest trend of the year.
Altogether, 23% of those asked said m-commerce was the main mobile trend going forward in 2012. There is also the same consensus from retailers, with 62% of that group seeing m-commerce as a strategic priority for their business over the next 12 months.
Moreover, beyond applications and HTML5, retailers cited mobile payments in general, NFC (30%), and mobile marketing techniques such as mobile CRM, augmented reality and loyalty schemes (30%) as central to their 2012 mobile strategies.
This is supported by 25% of all respondents indicating that mobile payments will really take off, citing NFC and mobile wallets as the driver of this area of the industry.
Mobile marketing was also expected to be an industry hot button throughout 2012 with 23% of all survey respondents indicating that this will be a significant focus for their businesses going forward.
Another key trend is a growing interest in mobile and social media, in particular how mobile enhances the social experience. Altogether, 11% of respondents indicated that mobile social media, in particular Facebook and how people will use it with retail for sharing and recommending and with TV for things like voting (Facebook credits) and consuming related content, would be a key driver going forward.
This echoes MIG research findings from 2011, which investigated the deep connections between mobile, TV and social media, in particular how consumers multi-task whilst watching TV and over which payment channels they prefer to purchase participation services such as voting and competitions. This research concluded that interactive events via Facebook are expected to generate $51.7 million (£32.04 million) in the UK in 2012 and $2.9 billion globally by 2016.
Barry Houlihan, general manager at MIG, said: 'The findings from our initial customer survey backs up our thinking and we're not surprised to see m-commerce and payments, mobile marketing and mobile social media top of the agenda for 2012. Many participants in our survey want to know what the mobile industry will look like in three to five years time. To have our thoughts on this validated by some of the world's leading brands demonstrates our understanding of the market place and where the industry is heading.'
Over 500 of MIG's customers participated in the survey, representing brands, agencies and technology providers across multiple sectors.
