B2B commerce is going mobile. For as long as I can recall, I've been hearing from numerous businesses that mobile wouldn't impact them since they were primarily B2B companies. This always struck me as making no sense, since mobile behavior couldn't be expected to affect only consumer behavior. People operating in a B2B environment don't live in a vacuum. They also are individual consumers, and what they see and experience in the B2C world should be expected to influence what they would come to expect in B2B. Now comes along some international research that highlights the B2B move to mobile …

Mobile payments are entering the realm of more buying with less activity. A number of indicators point to the idea of letting mobile consumers pay with as little effort as possible. For example, PayPal this week announced its PayPal Beacon, which will allow consumers to automatically check in at stores. Rather than using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, PayPal is using Bluetooth for transmission of information. Consumers then can pay hands free.

While upscale shoppers end up in the store when buying luxury goods, mobile interactions along the way can influence the outcome. As might be expected, wealthier consumers are relatively tech-savvy. However, a recent study shows that when it comes to luxury purchases, eight to nine out of 10 of their most recent luxury purchases were done in a physical store. The study, conducted by Ipsos for Google, aimed at looking how wealthy shoppers around the world research and buy luxury items. While almost all buyers are online, they use multiple devices to stay connected. Most of them also go online …

It's still to be determined what will drive mobile commerce to the masses. This is not to say many people are not using their phones and tablets to shop, they clearly are. A recent study about mobile banking reminded me of this, finding that nearly half of all online banking already is being done on a smartphone or tablet. In the banking and finance category, more than half of mobile consumers also rely on mobile exclusively to aid in purchase decisions, according to the xAd and Telmetrics Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study.

As location and technical capabilities advance, it's becoming easier to identify and reach consumers via their mobile devices as they shop. Most mobile marketers have been diligent in following opt-in rules to make sure the consumer agrees in advance to receive certain messages. Some people will want to receive such messaging and others won't, for a host of reasons. But location-based knowledge opens the door for marketers to have yet a new set of conversations, perhaps extremely relevant and helpful information closer to the product purchase decision.

We know from many studies that mobile shoppers can be swayed by a deal. Many of these mobile deals come in the form of digital coupons, though most people tend not yet to use them. And based on much of the reader reaction to a piece I wrote last week about a snapshot study chiding the effectiveness of printed circulars, I'm guessing there may be some who don't lean in the mobile coupon direction. Since then, a new survey has been completed showing that while mobile coupons don't dominate the deal landscape, they are clearly on the ris

It looks like mobile commerce is beginning to get a little respect. A new study projects that retail mobile commerce sales this year will reach $42 billion and more than $100 billion within four years. It's encouraging to finally see a study that looks at mobile commerce more holistically. Many mobile studies measure only the transaction part of shopping, which generally show the balance leaning to purchases by tablets. This study, by eMarketer, looks at mobile devices contributing to overall commerce growth in two ways.

Just because mobile payments have not yet taken off as quickly as some might like, it doesn't mean there isn't a need, at least in some quarters. I was starkly reminded of this in the course of a recent quick trip to Europe. The way my travel worked out, I had to overnight in London on the way to Germany. Looking for the closest hotel to catch an early flight the next day, I checked to find that I was both landing and departing from Terminal 5 at Heathrow, so booked the hotel officially named The Hilton London Heathrow Airport …

The world of mobile commerce is just that. At the Mobile Tech Conference 2013 in Berlin this week, I noticed quite a few names also familiar in the U.S. mobile marketplace. After doing the opening keynote presentation, I spent the day speaking with attendees, presenters and event sponsors to get a flavor of the state of mobile in that market. As might be expected, IBM had a large presence, promoting its mobile first approach.

Based on comments from a number of readers, in the grand scheme of mobile commerce, those printed circulars may not be ready for the recycle bin. Last week in this space, I wrote about the effectiveness of circulars (Mobile Coupons & the Waning Impact of Printed Circulars) based on a stat from digital marketing firm Catalina. The company analyzed millions of transactions over a holiday shopping period and found that a large percentage of items advertised in the circulars were not purchased at all. One reader referred to another recent study that showed many back to school shoppers preferred print …