I had the chance to preview a new business book which will be hitting shelves this fall. In "Click2K'Ching: The Mobile Shopper & The Impulse Economy," author Gary Schwartz points out that retailers need to switch their mindset from the four walls of the store to the endless possibilities of mobile commerce.
Gary is the president of ImpactMobile, as well as the founder and chair emeritus of the Mobile Marketing Committee for the US Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and the chair of the Americas for the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF)—so suffice to say he knows the mobile space as well as anyone.
In his new book, Gary points out that shoppers need to see their smart phone as a Mobile Mouse, enabling one-stop impulse clicks. And it’s going to take a lot more than just iPhone apps to accomplish this. According to Gary, the HTML5 mobile browser—which is more akin to a super-app—will ultimately be the demise of the app as a mainstream commerce medium.
So with the all important holiday season on the horizon, retailers should consider shifting some of their attention into developing an m-commerce campaign instead of putting all of their budgets into in-store and online holiday specials.
Are there more opportunities for retailers to increase their ROI by heightening functionality and interactivity via the shopper’s phone, rather than shoving it down their throats with relentless holiday music?
Gary thinks so. And, the answers, he says, are all over the store—just look around at all existing communication hubs and put an ‘M’ in front.
Here are some ofthe innovative strategies he discusses in his book:
ü m-POS – Mobile is enhancing existing services. PoS vendors like DigiPoS, SAP, Oracle and Epicor are redesigning their point-of-sale software as a point-of-engagement for sales and mobile CRM.
ü m-Coupons - Using the ubiquitous SMS for the shopper to tether a coupon to an existing plastic loyalty card.
ü m-Receipts - By printing UNIIQUE PINs on the bottom of a receipt to redeem for at checkout based on the consumer’s basket drive affinity goals. (PIN-on-RECEIPT)
ü m-Storefront – When it comes to the mobile storefront presence, Gary says that the industry mantra must change from “shrink” to “rethink”: “the goal is to take a legacy media and make it work on a smaller phone browser with limited functionality…”
ü m-Giftcards – The plastic gift-card displays at the entrance to all major retailers nationally, is the perfect opportunity for the card vendor to develop a relationship with the shopper. Just by tagging each card with a mobile call-to-action (for example, on an XBOX Live Card: Text “VIP” to 2233), VIPS can get offers, pre order games, and find out about virtual collector cards.
And the list of possible opportunities goes on:
- m-FSI’s (Free Standing Inserts)
- m-Sales rack
- m-Spiffs
- m-Endcap (End-of-Aisle display and shelf talkers)
- m-Product Fact Tag
- m-Kiosk
- m-Rebates
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So, we want to know: Are you ready for the holiday shopping season? What are some ways that you are engaging in m-commerce?
To learn more about Gary’s innovative ideas for next generation retail, look for his book "Click2K'Ching: The Mobile Shopper & The Impulse Economy" coming out this Fall 2010. Gary will also be a guest speaker at this year’s tekSESSIONS,November 3-5, 2010, at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL.
