Sky’s The Limit For M-Commerce
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Mobile Commerce Daily’s Mobile Commerce Outlook 2011
Sky’s The Limit For M-Commerce
The mobile commerce opportunities for retailers are several.
First, mobile expands the number of channels for retailers. Contrary to what the Internet did to other channels such as the catalog, mobile will have an incremental effect on overall retail sales, and not cannibalize ecommerce.
Second, mobile adds legs to other channels. Expect mobile tactics such as SMS marketing to drive traffic to stores with incentives such as coupons, alerts, discounts, new-merchandise updates and store openings.
Third, mobile adds a social element to the shopping experience. Happy shoppers will tweet, Facebook Like or post positive comments on feedback pages if the retail experience on mobile or in-store was satisfactory and more.
Fourth, mobile allows for price and product comparison on the spot. While this is a double-edged sword – after all, Amazon is poised to become the de facto mobile comparison shopping engine for mobile commerce – it also offers a new layer of transparency to the shopping process.
Fifth, mobile is an excellent marketing channel for retailers. Its potential to add to the overall customer loyalty program is mouth-watering. If there is one area that retailers are neglecting it is this: they are not moving fast enough to capture opt-in mobile numbers to market to consumers.
A CRM program without a mobile component is an incomplete program. It is a must to communicate with customers in the channel they are most comfortable with, and that today is mobile – via SMS and email.
