Get Ready For Mobile E-Commerce!!!

It was a rainy down here in South Florida this morning and now it is sunny!  So for today I wanted to focus on what I think will be a great boon for all internet retailers, not just the big guys. In other words, what bright future lays ahead for small to mid sized businesses to make money online?

I am speaking of e-commerce over wireless handheld devices, otherwise affectionately known as "m-commerce."  Look around you today at your children and those under 30.  Stare at them for 5 minutes and let me know if they don’t check their phone or “smart” phone for IMs, new music selections, RSS feeds, updates on American Idol, the latest Hollywood movie trailer, or the latest You-Tube “funny.”  The simple fact is that everyone is using one device, namely their “smart” phone, to do anything but cook dinner.

Now that 2.0 is here we will see a proliferation of all sorts of information being pushed to those 2 x 2 inch screens.  Just because you might be too old to get it [or see it... :-) ] don’t think the under 30’s have not adopted this practice hook, line and sinker.  They have and they will be using m-commerce just like the 40+ generation (yes that’s me) adopted the internet 10-15 years ago.

While only 12% of US Households with a mobile carrier use their data services, according to Forrester Research, that is a huge number considering that wireless carriers as T-Mobile, ATT/Cingular, Sprint, Verizon and others have only begun to accommodate m-commerce. Oh yeah and EVERYONE now has a wireless device if not 2.

We are at the dawn, see the sunshine analogy was coming along eventually, whereby any online merchant should be considering how they will format their data to reach these “smart” devices with a 2 x 2 inch screen. And we all know that there are no standards, yet, so I suggest you start working with companies who can help you on this next stage of wireless marketing.

This includes:

- viewing a FULL web page (very few people like to scroll on their phone)
- redeemable coupon sent to wireless devices
- special holiday gift reminders, and my favorite,
- sending an IM or e-mail to “opt-in” customers who have decided to receive special offers from their favorite merchants as they walk within 500 yards or less of your brick and mortar store.

If you are a retailer just getting to know how powerful online marketing can be to increase sales, maybe you can wait a few months before asking questions about m-commerce. But if you want to stay ahead of the curve, and be a leader in offering clients the next cool way to purchase products, start considering m-commerce; if you wait you may miss a great opportunity to differentiate your self from your competition and add value to your brand.

I will write more into the future on this great new industry, which is really just a new distribution method of what we are all doing already online.

Oh and if you don’t believe me, Chetan Sharma, President of Chetan Sharma Consulting states: “It is inevitable…that mobile devices will become an accepted way to conduct transactions.”

HELPFUL TIPS FOR THE DAY:

1. Don't under estimate the power and revenue potential of leveraging m-commerce to your existing marketing strategies.

2. Start asking your friends, consultants, and third party vendor providers the best practices to leverage this next wave of e-commerce = m-commerce!

3. If you think you can ignore this trend in the marketplace...you are WRONG. 

4. Undertstand the m-commerce marketplace now because it is really only a new distribution method for what you are already doing online.