Mobile Nations, a leading provider of ‘all things mobile’, started accepting bitcoin payments in early December. So far, the currency has proved to be a success for the retailer.
Mobile Nations operates store fronts such as ShopAndroid, ShopCrackberry, Windows Phone Central and, of course, the iMore Store. All four stores have been accepting bitcoin since 3rd December.
But how many of its consumers are actually using bitcoin?
Mobile Nations’ chief media officer Kevin Michaluk told CoinDesk that a relatively small amount of payments were made in bitcoin, roughly 0.004% of total orders. However, the average size of a bitcoin order is significantly higher than orders via other methods.
“The single largest order placed in our stores in December was actually paid for with bitcoin,” said Michaluk.
He pointed out that Mobile Nations decided to start accepting bitcoin payments in response to demand from the community:
“When our customers ask for something, we take it seriously. We had been receiving requests to accept bitcoin for the past six months or so, on a steady but fairly limited basis.”
Michaluk added that as the value of bitcoin surged in late 2013, calls to introduce bitcoin payments grew louder. Since the surge coincided with the holiday shopping season, Mobile Nations decided to add support for the virtual currency.
“Our tech team looked into the requirements and merchant services available and found the process to be straightforward. Implementation was easy, and a few days later we were ready to accept Bitcoin,” he said.
On the user-end, the system is straightforward. All consumers need to do is add an item to their cart and click the ‘Pay with bitcoin’ button, hassle free.
When asked to comment on the future of bitcoin, Michaluk was cautious. He said he still does not know what the future holds for bitcoin, but he stressed that there is a real community movement behind bitcoin and many customers are asking for bitcoin support.
Mobile Nations was happy to oblige and become part of the bitcoin story.
Mobile Accessories image via Shutterstock