Retailers...'Build it and they will come!'

Retailers...'Build it and they will come!'

Mickey (Mickey Alam Khan is editor in chief of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily) wrote an interesting article about retailers needing to adopt mobile commerce in advance of consumers wanting to use it. In other words, retailers should adopt the motto... 'Build it and they will come!'
This is his article: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/editorials/5525.htm

I quote one of his finishing paragraphs....

"When retail gets behind mobile, customers will get behind their favorite retail brands. Now is the time to build that mobile commerce site or application and lease a common short code for SMS marketing. Mobile is ripe for the picking." Mickey Alam Khan

If Mickey suggests as above, shoppers are happy to use mobile web sites, mobile apps and SMS, then they no doubt those some of those shoppers may prefer to use email, Instant Messaging, Camera (Image Recognition, Augmented Reality), or MMS as well as SMS and Smart Phone Apps and Mobile Websites.

It's interesting that 2 of his 3 recommendations require smart phones, the 3rd, SMS, does not. This is because, despite SMS not being a sexy technology, it is ubiquitous. Even with the growth of Smart Phones and the explosion of Social Networking Apps available on mobiles, SMS traffic is increasing at approx 30% YoY.

The point here is that mobile users prefer to use difference technologies on their phone to connect with others, just like they do on their PC. So if this is the case, then Retailers should be positioning their development efforts to support as many mobile channels/technologies as possible.

In the interim, instead of focusing on converting mobile users to buy now (from their mobile), retailers should consider a simpler step of allowing shoppers to tag/bookmark products they see (in window displays, catalogues, magazines, billboards, posters, direct mail, newspapers, TV, radio, etc) have that product info sent to the mobile and record their tagged product online, in a wishlist, so they can revisit these items online later at their convenience. Perhaps then, with a glass of wine in hand, they will buy.....