Amazon, eBay Power Bulk of $2.5 Billion Mobile Commerce

Lazard Capital Markets estimates consumers will spend roughly $2.5 billion this year on merchandise purchased via the mobile web, and said Amazon and eBay will account for roughly two-thirds of that volume.

In a report issued on Friday, Colin Sebastian wrote that 2010 put mobile on the map, and 2011 will be "when it really matters." Sebastian wrote that he believed a meaningful portion of mcommerce is incremental, not simply a shift from desktop shopping. He said mobile payment solutions are an important driver of mobile commerce, and said PayPal appears to have an early lead.

Sebastian also wrote about a "lack of differentiation" of ecommerce websites. According to several presentations at the recent Etail conference, there will be new investments in website functionality in order to innovate and stand out in a competitive market - otherwise sites would likely differentiate on the basis of price. He believes social media, online video, and mobile commerce are likely sources of new investments.