ROLE OF SMARTPHONES WITH THE ADVENT OF M-COMMERCE IN INDIA

Abstract

India has witnessed a dramatic growth in the number of mobile phone users in the recent past. Equally impressive has been the increase in internet access. Although mobiles allow us to stay connected, the convergence of internet access and smartphones has resulted in tectonic shifts in consumer awareness, outlook and behaviour. Smartphones have been rapidly transformed from being just handheld telecommunications devices to being a window to the world and are now a means of expressing one’s opinion and individuality. It has also become the new retail storefront. Smartphones are now a daily necessity for most and are used for a wide range of essential activities. E-commerce practices have expanded its uses into the quickly evolving mobile phone industry in the form of M-commerce. Mcommerce, which stands for mobile commerce, is a key positive development for businesses and organizations. It has increasingly expanded and plays a prominent role in our life. M-commerce is a new term referring to “any transaction with a monetary value that is conducted via a mobile telecommunications network”. M-commerce is becoming a specific kind of e-commerce that is becoming available and attractive with the technological change and that leads to a constant contact between the retailer and the customer. At the same time, new technologies are being developed to allow payments through mobile phone in fast and simple way.