Mobile is the place to be!

 I am reposting an article from Mobile Commerce.  The most interesting part is that many retailers are missing out on creating a Mobile Database.  The simplest form! People want to be connected via SMS!  The loyalty it builds is insane!

 

Mobile Commerce Daily’s Mobile Commerce Outlook 2011

By Mickey Alam Khan

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February 14, 2011

Please click here to download Mobile Commerce Daily’s Mobile Commerce Outlook 2011
This year marks a turning point in mobile commerce as more retailers realize that a transaction-ready and shopper-friendly mobile store is no longer an option but increasingly a necessity. Mobile commerce’s good days are about to begin.
As Mobile Commerce Daily’s Mobile Commerce Outlook 2011 shows, all facets of mobile are showing tremendous strength. As expected, mobile Web sites are leading the charge in mobile commerce, followed by applications and SMS programs designed to drive traffic to mobile and in-store destinations.
This compendium is designed to help retailers and marketers navigate the world of mobile commerce this year.
For followers of ecommerce, the landscape looks awfully familiar to the early days of the Internet: lack of standards, clunky interfaces, difficult transaction process and page pull-up speeds that don’t meet the demands of today’s impatient consumer.

But a little patience and lots of best practice will resolve most of these salad-days issues for mobile commerce.
In this Outlook, senior editor Giselle Tsirulnik, associate editor Dan Butcher and editorial assistant Rimma Kats have ably outlined what to expect in mobile commerce this year. Each article is worthy of a serious read. Many thanks to them and to those industry experts and columnists who helped for their hard work and also to Rimma for her art direction on this edition.
Sky’s the limit for mcommerce
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.
Remember ecommerce?
Of course, mobile still has issues such as security concerns over transactions on the phone and lack of frictionless payment options unless the mobile store relies on the consumer data stored on the ecommerce site.
Add to that screen size, page load and site and application design and utility issues that need to be resolved and, of course, the back-end infrastructure that needs to tie into the ecommerce engine for order fulfillment, returns and everything else.
Having seen the Internet and ecommerce’s growth since the early 1990s, this writer has little doubt that mobile commerce in 2015 will be every inch as sophisticated as ecommerce in 2011. This year marks the first long stride toward that possibility. Let the Mobile Commerce Outlook 2011 embolden retailers and marketers to sprint ahead in mobile commerce.
Please click here to download Mobile Commerce Daily’s Mobile Commerce Outlook 2011

Mickey Alam Khan is editor in chief of Mobile Commerce Daily and Mobile Marketer. Reach him at mickey@mobilemarketer.com.

Once You Go SMART You never Go Back!

Retailers increasingly adopting POS mobile coupon redemption technology

By Giselle Tsirulnik

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November 10, 2010

Mobile shopping on the rise

A study by IHL Group and RetailConnections finds that 54 percent of all retailers surveyed indicated that within one year they will have the ability to deliver coupons electronically to customers’ mobile phone and scan at the point of sale directly from the device’s screen.
The survey of 570 consumers and 66 retailers highlights the way that consumers use their devices for social media and commerce. The study also focused on how retailers are planning to engage consumers before they visit a store and once they are in the store environment.
“The mobile channel is yet another avenue for retailers to connect with their core consumers,” said Sean M. Alexander, technology analyst at IHL Group, Spring Hill, TN. “The channel, if properly managed, can help the retailer deliver targeted, specific offers and discounts to their customers.

“It can help build a profile of the consumer and act as another avenue for a loyalty program,” he said. “This can really help in areas like clienteling, allowing retailers to build specific profiles that allow for customized service to some of their best customers and increase wallet share of satisfied, loyal customers.”
Smartphones on the rise
The IHL and RetailConnections study also found that more than 56 percent of current smartphone users are seriously considering an Apple iPhone and 44 percent an Android device for their next smartphone.
Both smartphones could nearly double their share of shipments in the United States in the next year.
The study also reveals that only 24 percent of smartphone users surveyed are seriously considering a BlackBerry and only 10 percent a Windows smartphone for their new device. Respondents could choose more than one device they were considering.
Retail mobile strategies
So, how should retailers plan to engage consumers via mobile?
According to the study, retailers need to integrate with social media, use text message coupons and offer a store locator that interfaces with a consumer’s mobile device.
The data indicates that retailers see the heavy usage of these tools by consumers on mobile devices, as 43 percent already offer social media integration, and another 29 percent of retailers plan to offer that integration within the next year.
“We see similar high levels of adoption and planned adoption in text coupons and store locators,” Mr. Alexander said.
Smartphone user behavior
Standalone GPS devices are an endangered species. Sixty-six percent of all smartphone users have used the GPS application on their phone in the past year.
A whopping 35 percent of smartphone users have received and/or redeemed a text message coupon.
Also, 41 percent of shoppers have checked competitive prices while in a retail store either with Amazon, RedLaser, or another comparison engine.
The research also indicates that consumers are using text and email features most often on their devices.
You’ll never go back
Fully, 97 percent of mobile phone users surveyed had sent or received a text message during the last year, and 79 percent sent/received email.
Social media also saw a strong response rate, with 52 percent of users having updated/signed onto their Facebook account.
“2011 is poised to be a huge year in the advancement of mobile for retail,” Mr. Alexander said. “IPhones, iPads and Android devices have all moved past the stage of being cool and into the mainstream.
“While many industry estimates peg current smartphone adoption at just 25 percent of the total cell phone market, we found that only 1 percent of current smartphone users would consider a standard cell phone going forward,” he said.
“Basically, once you go smart, you never go back.”

Link to Full Study/Report !

http://www.usshortcodes.com/docs/Neustar_CSC-ROI-whitepaper.pdf

Excerpt from SMS Study

These are some pretty powerful numbers!!

"Ashley Furniture HomeStore provides another example of SMS
effectiveness when compared with email. The chain held a
four-day Secret Sale that was only promoted by email and SMS.
After subtracting the discounts from coupons, Ashley Furniture
HomeStore sold $122 dollars of merchandise for every dollar
spent on SMS and $76 for every dollar spent on email."

Wall Street Journal & Texting!

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703673604575550201949192336-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNDExNDQyWj.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

SMS a Key Tool!

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/sms-key-tool-to-increase-customer-loyalty-drive-brand-awareness-mblox/


Great Article about the increasing use of SMS

Mobile Media Going Crazy!

WOW!  I am just so excited about the prospects of Mobile Media!  I walked into a (now new client!) yesterday.  I shared with him what Mobile can do for his business.  After an example and short demonstration he said, "Where do I sign up?  How many of these do you sell a day?  It has to be a lot!"  People and businesses are starting to understand the power behind the iZigg platform!  How can a business or organization communicate with all of its customers in seconds in a cost effective manner?  That is what we have.  The power of the list is incredible!  No matter what you are promoting, the list you build will increase the traffic to your front door or website or wherever you want !!  Truly incredible!

Here is how the City of East Peoria is using it to communicate to its residents!

 Peoria Journal Star East Peoria Article