Merchandising is key to boosting product sales in e-commerce. In m-commerce, with far less screen space, it is crucial, mobile technology experts say.
In the case of selling digital downloads of mobile games via phones and other handheld devices, positioning on so-called “shopping decks”—commerce sections hosted by wireless telecommunications carriers—can make or break a mobile game title. Game publishers that grab the best shelf space on decks achieve a significant bump in downloads and sales, according to Telephia Inc., a mobile communications industry research firm.
“Given the limited real estate on the mobile screen and the difficulty of driving consumer trial, getting top shelf placement is the No. 1 priority for game publishers,” says Kanishka Agarwal, vice president of mobile content.
Telephia’s new Mobile Game Merchandising study, conducted in Q4 2006, shows mobile games promoted in carriers’ New, Featured or Best Seller areas received 90% more downloads than when the same games were not promoted or listed deeper in a deck. Additionally, titles with top shelf placement on the first page of a carrier’s deck racked up 53% more downloads than when the same titles appeared on subsequent pages of a deck.
The research analyzed the relationship between deck placement and sales for a broad sample of mobile game titles. Rather than relying on self-reported purchases from consumer surveys to track games sales, Telephia maintains a panel of 35,000 mobile subscribers and passively tracks purchase behavior by monitoring phone bills.
Levi Shapiro, director of Los Angeles operations at Telephia, will speak at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, June 4-7 in San Jose in a session entitled Mobile Commerce is Happening—and Retailers Better Get Ready for It.
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