This post is a recap of today’s webinar: Holiday Wish List for Mobile Commerce. The on-demand version is now available, along with a download-able mѤ file.
First, a little about our guest speaker:
Bill Mirabito has over a decade’s experience managing e-business activities as both a marketer and technologist for brands across the world as a senior retail analyst with Forrester Research. Bill also held the reins at BJ’s Wholesale Club’s online division and presently runs his own retail specialty shop. ʖC Partners is Bill’s consultancy which helps enterprise retailers with ecommerce vendor evaluation and product selection.
The webinar covers 3 areas:
- Recent examples of mobile commerce in retail
- Why Adoption has been slow
- Moving mobile commerce from novelty to strategy
Recent examples of mobile commerce in retail
Chanel
Chanel created an iPhone application, which can be downloaded from the App Store. You can use the application to view the current catalog, read Chanel news or find a local store.
Godiva
Godiva partnered with mobile web solutions provider Digby to create a Blackberry-specific version of the Godiva site that allows customers to complete transactions, view rich product descriptions and full-color images, and find retail locations using GPS. However, it’s hard to access from non-Blackberry devices:
Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters developed a text messaging promotions system which you can sign up for online. They also promote in-store sign-ups. The sign up form states the service is compatible with AT&T products, I’m not sure if that means others are or are not supported - this should have clarification.
After sign up, customer receives a welcome message:
UO TXT: Thanks! You’ll be hearing from us soon. Std msg rates apply. Reply STOP 2 unsub at any time.
Barnes and Noble
BN.com has a mobile version that functions like the regular website - you can search, view product details, add to cart and checkout with credit card.
Polo Ralph Lauren has also developed a mobile version of its site at m.ralphlauren.com
Amazon
Amazon Text Buy It lets customers send text commands to the service which sends an automated call back to the user’s device, pulling previously saved customer information including credit card and shipping information (requires an existing Amazon account).
Why mobile commerce adoption has been slow
1. No standard mobile web interface. Broadband touch-screens are gaining traction, but unlike the desktop-world with mainly 2 major operating systems, there no uniform OS or browser for mobile devices. Controlling the user experience is much more difficult.
(You may also be interested in our recent post Should You Have a Mobile Version of Your Retail Website?)
2. Mobile merchandising is impractical. Even the best small screen devices can never match the desktop experience - monitors get larger, websites get more depth of content - and zoom/alternate views on a small screen / page becomes more problematic to effectively merchandise products and push to checkout.
3. Payments much more difficult to secure. Cell phones were designed to be used in public. Would you key in a credit card number in an airport? The greater inclination is to dial toll free number or defer the transaction to later time. 41% of data users who don’t use mobile commerce say security is their biggest concern according to research by Nielsen Mobile.
PayPal Mobile or Amazon.com’s stored credit card information are great options for loyal users who are already registered with these services. As the market expands, there may come a point where users are more inclined to pay through these methods but still few and far between.
Some carriers are exploring bill-to-phone options but this requires a proprietary interface and other complexities that makes the audience still quite small. You may not want to market just to a sub-set of carrier users like Verizon or AT&T only.
Statistics
Broadband at 25.5% and smart phones only 6.4%. Retailers like Chanel who build specifically for smart phones find only a small market.
SMS has now reached critical mass - average calls less than text messages per month. Now a viable way to engage consumers (market to them) wherever they are.
Moving Mobile Commerce from Novelty to Strategy
Think about using mobile commerce, not necessarily to close transaction or replicate the website. Mobile phones can be an effective “kiosk on the hip.” Use mobile ecommerce websites and text message marketing to engage, inform, assist and enhance the in-store experience. Leverage your web assets to assist in-store tasks, with the mobile channel as the essential bridge to:
- Register for sweepstakes and promos
- provide store locators with hours and directions
- Deliver detailed product info / ratings / reviews
- Pull inventory data from this and other local stores - save sales
- Create gift registries/wish lists as you walk through stores for later access, perhaps online purchase
- Use tell-a-friend from the store aisle
Sample Use-Cases, In-Store Personas
ENGAGE: Ed the Enthusiast
- Merge in-store activities with on-site so you can better market to Ed
- REGISTER [email] for enhanced shopping and/or savings
- MENU for list of shopping utilities like item details, availability, wish list, tell a friend, special offers
- HELP for a URL to the mobile web site
- Send welcome SMS with link and how to unsubscribe
Idea: put SMS callout on in-store signage, sporting events, TV, billboard, sales receipts, flyers, business cards etc.
INFORM: Rita Research
- Leverage product information and rating/review assets to assist research
- In-store associates may not have enough information, reviews tell her what actual customers think
- ITEM [sku] for product details
ASSIST: Hal the Hunter
- ZIP [zip] codes for local store address, phone, hours, directions
- AVAIL [sku] for local availability, e.g. AVAIL 567893 ZIP 02111
ASSIST: Tina Teenage
- Shopper with no credit card but she has a cell phone, can influence others’ purchases
- ADD [sku] to build a wish-list
- SHARE [sku] [email] to tell a friend e.g. SHARE 567893 to mom@home.com
ENHANCE: Barb the Bargain Hunter
- Savings and suggestions: OFFERS for discounts and recommended items
- Locative GPS messaging (provided it’s opt-in) can target offers to subscribers within X miles of the store
- Great for cross-selling and upselling while customer is in the store - an on-demand sales associate
Putting it All Together
The more you contacts and touch points you have with the same consumer across channels, the more value you are to them and they are to you. You know more about them and can deliver better, targeted information directly to them - aligning your Ecommerce, ERP and CRM systems.
It’s not as simple as plugging something into a website. You want aggregators that pool data and send it to appropriate service providers. Your app provider builds an interface on top of your systems for you (example, Motricity), while connection aggregators (such as Air2Web) put together a program to deliver content from your platform to the wireless carrier.
Summary
- Don’t focus just on mobile transactions
- Leverage existing assets to enhance in-store experience
- Gather more insight from in-store behavior tied to real users
- Engage users in the aisle and keep them from your competition
- Reward users for loyalty with convenience, not just cash
Questions and Answers
How do you prevent customers from researching, handling products in your store only to buy through Amazon Text Buy?
The reality is this already takes place, whether through mobile or web channels (if not another retail competitor). If you don’t provide them with ratings and reviews and they have a web-enabled phone, they can do that anyway.
Are any retailers putting reviews in a specific mobile format?
No, most retailers aren’t thinking about the connection between the WAP page (web access protocol, or mobile web page) and the text message format. A good practice is to engage the customer in the text message with a link to a WAP page with product review.
Any don’ts for SMS marketing? What constitutes spam?
There was a lawsuit against GSI and Timberland for SMS spam which settled for $7 Million, so it’s essential to get permission for any kind of marketing and allow an opt-out such as text STOP to unsubscribe.
Is there potential for geo-locative content?
GPS enabled mobile devices can receive messages when they are within a certain range of a store. If you can engineer this into your mobile content system, all the better. Even in those cases, you need permission in each and every case.
If someone hasn’t approached mobile yet, what is the lowest-barrier-to-entry strategy?
Give people more access to product information than is in the aisle - there’s already much more on the web than you can fit in a shelf tag. If that information is available online, the customer is much more likely to buy armed with this additional information.
What kind of investment do you need to get going with mobile commerce?
It’s hard because it’s so brand new, depends on complexity of your situation.
Final thought…
With the state of the economy, consumer confidence everyone is nervous about the state of the …
In terms of innovation, this is an area that retailers can leverage what they already have if they can expose that to consumers in the aisle more effectively.
Contact Bill Mirabito
Bill Mirabito, Founder & Principal Analyst B2C Partners
web: http://www.b2cpartners.com
bmirabito at b2cpartners dot com
Twitter: @bmirabito
Next Month’s Webinar…
Multi-Store Retailing Online: Perks and Pitfalls
Many retailers and manufacturers are stretching their tentacles and launching ecommerce sites dedicated to specific geographic markets, product lines, price strategies, and even shopper personas. And they are reaping huge benefits. But, there are key things you need to know before taking this next step in online retail. Find out what this game changing trend is all about and bring your specific questions.
In this webinar you will discover:
• Why multi-store retailing is gaining momentum
• The types of stores you must consider launching
• When it makes sense to launch additional stores
• How to avoid common yet critical mistakes
There will also be time for your questions.
Speaker: Jason Billingsley, Co-Founder and VP Innovation, Elastic Path Software
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PST
Register today, and if you have a co-worker who would be interested, please invite them.
Next Free Ecommerce Webinar…
Dangerous Marketing Ahead: How to Break Bad Habits and Survive a Deep Recession December 10th, 2008 @ 9am PT/12pm ET
Panelists: Jeff Molander, CEO, Molander & Associates, Inc.
Jason Billingsley, VP Innovation, Elastic Path Software
Jonathan Salem Baskin, Entrepreneur, Consultant and Author of the controversial new book, "Branding Only Works on Cattle"
Register to Attend…
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