Understanding the Mobile Consumer

Abstract

The recent surge of interest in mobile commerce (m-commerce) is fueled by consumer interest in being able to access business services or to communicate with other consumers anytime and anywhere. It is also motivated by the interest of the business community to extend their reach to customers at all times and all places. Businesses that aspire to succeed in this market must have a deep understanding of the interests and concerns of the mobile consumers in using wireless applications. With this in mind, this chapter provides an analysis of this emerging market from a consumer’s perspective. A consumer-centric m-commerce model outlining the various wireless interaction modes of the mobile consumer (m-consumer) is presented, followed by a discussion of the needs and concerns of the m-consumer. An m-commerce value network is then presented, outlining the roles of the different players within this industry. The various business applications developed to address m-consumer needs are then presented. Finally, a global m-commerce market overview is provided, and some future trends are outlined.