Devices such as the iPhone offer retailers new avenues for point-of-sale.
The simple mobile phone has come a long way in the past few years.
In the past, devices promised ‘mobile internet’, but in reality delivered a significant cut down, text based WAP portal, with limited support for services and content. These ‘grandfathers of mobile internet’, included phones such as the Nokia 3510i and Communicator series, and were the first to bring true GPRS internet services to the masses.
The biggest problem with these phones was the lack of mobile-optimised content. Standard GPRS in 2G network is generally about 4 times slower than 3G transfer rates.
In recent years, almost all phone manufacturers produce handsets with mobile internet capabilities. In fact, smartphone and internet enabled devices are the fastest growing mobile phone segment in the Western world.
The prevalence of mobile internet access offers significant marketing and transactional opportunities. Mobile phones are also one of the few personal belongings to be carried on a person at all times. The potential for ‘in the moment’ transactions and information search is a key benefit of mobile internet applications.
So what are companies doing to hook up with these consumers?
According to many, the obvious answer is the use of Social Marketing sites like Facebook and Twitter. With an estimated 75% of Australian Facebook users accessing Facebook Mobile, it seems like logical reasoning to market where the people are.
Until you dig a little deeper.
Most people don’t go on Facebook to connect with companies. They use it to post status updates, see what their friends are doing and check out the pictures from last night’s party. The exception is when they are deriving value from being a fan of a company. This is usually in the form of original, informative or humourous content. But unless you have fresh, riveting content, delivered on an almost daily basis, you’ll find most users switch off.
The real power of mobile marketing is one of the key benefits of ‘desktop’ internet: a device which saves time or money, or one which provides consumers access to items or information which would usually be restricted due to geographical constraints. In particular – turning all those handsets into digital shopfronts.
Online shopping has become more commonplace over the past decade. As first world Internet access approached 90%, consumers have become more trusting of online shopping, to the point where during 2006, $146.4 billion was spent online in the US alone.
The real strength of online shopping is in products that are easily relevant to many people, across many demographic, geographic and personal attributes. Items such as books, CDs/DVDs, and electronic goods are ideal as they are standardised, a wide range of people purchase them, and unlike clothing items, do not require sizing.
So we’ve established the power of Internet shopping to companies. But that’s old news.
Imagine now that all these online shopfronts were available to consumers not just when they are in front of a computer, but rather available anytime, anywhere, in their pocket. Imagine a device consumers already carry everywhere, permanently connected to your online store.
Companies in America have identified the benefits of having such an online store permanently in consumers’ pockets. Amazon has integrated their mobile internet offering successfully into their business model. Recently the retail giant announced sales on mobile devices totalled $US1 billion in the previous year for the first time in the company’s history.
Even the device manufacturers have realised the potential for continual revenue streams form the linking of device to online store. The first major player to do this effectively was Apple, linking the iPod with the Apple iTunes Store. The nature of the iTunes store – which was embedded into the only application which could update an iPod – meant revenue through the iTunes store is estimated to be well over $1 billion annually. This growth has predominately been borne through a combination of convenience and price.
Amazon has also had great success with their Kindle electronic book reader, by linking it exclusively to their online store. In the last three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon sold, they also sold 143 kindle e-books. In June alone, they sold 180 kindle e-books for every 100 hardcovers. However unlike the iTunes store, which is only available through Apple products and applications, the Amazon mobile store is available on almost all popular devices – including the iPad, iPhone and most Blackberrys. This represents the majority of devices in use today.
Again, the simplicity and ease of purchasing is what makes these online stores successful. By offering it on a range of devices and platforms you open your store up to many more potential customers, 24 hours a day.
Tags: internet shopping, mobile online shopping, online marketing with mobile devices