| | March 20178CIOReviewSelecting the Right Partner and Mobile Optimization Critical to Business Success in 2017In My OpinionBy Steve Fusco, VP, GM Global Distribution, PayPalAccording to Internet Retailer, online sales on Black Friday increased by more than 20 percent in 2016 and mobile sales passed $1 billion on a single day for the first time ever. M-commerce then broke the $1 billion barrier again just three days later, on Cyber Monday, as mobile sales surged by 34 percent compared with the previous year. At PayPal, we processed more than $2 billion in mobile payments during the five day shopping rush from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, representing a third of our total payment volume. All of this gives credence to the BI Intelligence prediction that m-commerce will be worth more than a quarter-trillion dollars and account for 45 percent of the U.S. e-commerce market by 2020. And it makes clear that creating a mobile-friendly shopping experience is critical if your business is going to drive increased sales online in 2017 and beyond. The Power of Marketplaces The question, of course, is how. Creating an online retail presence is complicated enough given the need to account for everything from design to marketing, search optimization, payments, and fulfillment. Add in the requirement to offer a compelling mobile experience and it can feel like an overwhelming burden and a serious distraction from the real reason you are in business--to bring your products or services into the hands of customers. Marketplace platforms can be an important part of the answer. They offer a great way to make your brand, products, and services available to an entire world of new customers--most of whom would never run across your company and the great things you sell. This alone can drive a jump in sales, much like opening a store in a high-traffic location. When you use an established marketplace such as eBay or Etsy, you can do all this without taking on the cost and complexity of creating your own platform. These marketplaces typically provide turnkey tools that will make you mobile-ready, with seamless checkout options, marketing and order fulfilment capabilities, and search engine optimization. And you can take advantage of all of this while using your brand name and logo so you won't sacrifice the brand loyalty you've already built with your existing customer base. Consumers are growing increasingly comfortable making large purchases via mobile and online, but a recent ComScore study revealed that payment security is still a significant concern for those consumers looking to make bigger, Steve Fusco
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