Mobile commerce is coming of age, but not without design headaches
Mobile commerce will eventually be considered the fourth major retailing channel, but web site designers still face some formidable development challenges, David Sikora, CEO of mobile commerce marketplace Digby, told attendees today at the Internet Retailer Web Design ’08 conference in Miami.
Today 3 billion consumers use a cell phone or handheld device, which could make mobile commerce the next major retailing channel after the web, stores and catalogs, Sikora said. “In 1994 and 1995 people began realizing the Internet was going to be a major new shopping channel, but merchants were trying to figure out how to connect to it,” he said. “We are in a similar era with mobile commerce. The merchants that figure out how to use this channel will have a huge competitive edge.”
Just as the Internet presented significant opportunity as well as challenges, the same scenario applies to mobile commerce. For instance, mobile commerce presents several design-related problems. “The web and the mobile phone are not compatible,” Sikora said. “Most mobile phones have two- or three-inch screens and even the best mobile networks offer unpredictable connectivity.”
Retail web site designers also must bear in mind that the mobile commerce sites they build must reflect that time sensitivity is of critical importance to shoppers. “Mobile shoppers don’t have a long attention span,” Sikora said. “They are multi-taskers that use their cell phone or handheld device in nuggets of time.”
Designers are now able to build more interactivity into their mobile commerce sites because the newest cell phones, iPhones and BlackBerrys are, in effect, computers. “They are smart devices capable of running rich applications,” he said.
But web-enabled cell phones and handheld devices also have limited forms and data entry potential. “You can’t build the same type of customer experience with mobile commerce just yet as you can with a personal computer linked to the Internet,” Sikora said.
Retailers have two options to enter into mobile commerce: build their own site or join an emerging mobile commerce mall. But with either option, it will be important for merchants to leave ample opportunity for trial and error. “You need to set and manage reasonable expectations,” Sikora said.
Digby, a mobile commerce marketplace founded in 2006, features merchants such as Godiva Chocolatier.
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