Mobile Web Vs Mobile Apps
About one-quarter of Internet sites considered mobile friendly are shopping and services sites
, a category that includes the gamut from retail sites and shopping assistants to banks and real estate sites, according to Taptu as reported on ReadWriteWeb.v But conversely, other research done by Rosetta concludes that only about 10 percent of retail sites are full mobile players, meaning that their sites are optimized for mobile use with commerce capabilities, or that they have a dedicated app.vi However, Rosetta also found that some 57 percent of retailers studied are delivering an acceptable browsing experience, but the vast majority do not have mobile commerce capability.
With retail on the mobile Web not quite up to its potential, the supercharged mobile shopping experience is still largely an app-driven proposition. Third-party applications can handily aggregate product information, availability and pricing. And individual retailer applications can highlight a stores offerings, locations, and special deals, and offer specialized functionality and interaction.
Top-tier e-commerce players like eBaywhich did $600 million through its mobile channel in 2009, and expects to do $1.5 billion in 2010vii and Amazon have mastered the mobile experience through their apps, delivering a high degree of usability, the right feature set, and acceptable performance. Now other big names in retailespecially those with real-world storesare quickly trying to catch up.
Target is the first national retailer to install readers in all its stores that can both read mobile coupon barcodes and gift card barcodes, allowing customers to use coupons and pay with their smartphones.
Target is aggressively increasing their mobile presence and feature set. Theyve invested in the point-of-sale technology necessary to scan mobile barcodes at the cash registers in all of their stores, opening up new levels of functionality and convenience for the consumer. Shoppers can opt-in to receive localized Target coupons via SMS, and then have those coupons scanned right off their phones at checkout. Target customers can also manage and use their gift cards right from their mobile phones.
Starbucks customers can leave their gift cards behind when they shop at Target, too. Following a successful beta test in Starbucks home territory in the Pacific northwest, Starbucks has rolled out mobile gift card payment capability to all of its in-Target stores. Starbucks Mobile Card app users can check and reload their balances via the app on their phone or online, and then use the app to pay for the venti-skim-no whip latte they order at their nearby Target.
Sears has assembled a sizeable team to accelerate its e-commerce efforts, including location-aware mobile apps that make product recommendations based on locale, like offering home-team sports apparel specific to a stores physical location.viii Another old-line retailer, J.C. Penney, is working on new mobile apps that will push promotions out to customers when they come in the store, as well as deliver product info, reviews and pricing when customers scan barcodes with their phones camera, la RedLaser.ix
Its been very interesting to see how everything was on hold, on hold, building up, building up, says Shlomi Gian, director of mobile business development at Keynote. And then the gates were open, and youve got all of your retailers racing to catch up.
Source : Keynote.com/benchmark
by: Chris samuels
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