Mobile Commerce Leaders Talk Shop
Posted: October 07, 2009
Image courtesy of CardinalCommerce Corporation
By Sheila Shayon
The number of smartphone users is predicted to quadruple by 2013, and research firm Yankee Group expects that users of the devices will download 7 billion apps costing $4.2 billion by that year.
“Apps have been around for years, but app stores have created mass-market products with million-dollar revenue streams attached. Every mobile software developer could be the next Bill Gates for smartphones, but only if they bet on the platforms with the right reach and fit for their” says Carl Howe, director at Yankee Group.
The growth of mobile in general, and mCommerce, is advancing at an unprecedented rate in sophistication, reach, adoption and possibility. The number of retailers creating mobile commerce sites and apps surged this past summer, some enabling shopping and purchasing, while others allow mobile shoppers to browse product catalogs, locate stores, read customer reviews and more.
The majority of retailers in mCommerce use vendors to build and help maintain their mobile sites and apps, and several have emerged as leaders: CardinalCommerce, Moonshadow eCommerce, Usablenet and Digby. They’ve secured deals with some of the biggest names in Internet retailing and are working feverishly on new mCommerce sites and apps.
DMB recently spoke to this group to find out what they’re working on for the future.
CardinalCommerce Corporation is the global leader in enabling authenticated payments, secure transactions and alternative payment brands for both eCommerce and mobile commerce. Cardinal powers 17 mCommerce sites, including Foot Locker Inc. (which operates five sites for different brands), Skymall Inc., Karmaloop LLC, DVD Empire and pcRush.com.
“The mobile channel is evolving and we will learn together,” says Tim Sherwin, co-founder of CardinalCommerce. “The approach we take is we look to create a very flexible relationship in mobile: we will learn, share ideas, try different things, watch how shoppers react to all of this, and grow together. Mobile is not an inventory system where you can say this is how it works and this is how it will achieve your requirements.”
Cardinal MAX, Cardinal’s proprietary technology provides consumers, merchants, credit/debit card issuers and processors the ability to conduct authenticated Internet, wireless and mobile transactions safely and securely. MAX also enables merchants to sell through mobile commerce by linking them directly with consumer mobile phones.
“The biggest challenge in this new world of mCommerce is actually securing the investment before the transactions,” Sherwin says. “We’re rebuilding the transaction model world and retailers are coming to understand that they will get their payback later, after the transaction is completed.”
“Mobile-initiated commerce” is the term Sherwin uses for a sea-change shift in shopping. NFC (Near Field Communications) is a chip in the back of a smartphone and can be waved at point of purchase and activates the credit card (also resident in the phone) that automatically deducts payment. Impulse and convenience are the key factors in the successful mCommerce experience. “Pro-actively engaging the consumer to opt-in, leverages the intimacy of a mobile device — true one-to-one-marketing. Mobile-initiated commerce comes from location-based services that deliver, drives sales and bring consumer loyalty,” Sherwin says.
Cardinal is also working on an app that will allow a product, such as a new iPod, to include a two-dimensional bar code on an ad that would appear on a bus, for example. A phone’s camera would read the code, open teh product on the phone with an option to “buy now,” and a purchase can be made before the bus rounds the corner.
When asked what defines today’s mobile skill set – Sherwin was quick to answer, “Passion.”
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