Wireless Web: Cashing In When the Buying Impulse Strikes

For years, the online retailing industry has been waiting for m (mobile)-commerce to happen. As far back as the late 1990s, online retailers saw the potential of sales to consumers with wireless PCs, PDAs and cell phones. But it has been slow to develop in the U.S., in part because America is such a wired society—virtually all offices are connected to the Internet and most homes have cable TV hook-ups—and because wireless connectivity took time to spread. Thus, e-retailers focused first on the low-lying fruit—high-speed wired connections to home and office. But as wireless access to the web becomes commonplace, some retailers are now starting to experiment seriously with wireless shopping and initial experiences indicate that m-commerce's time has come. This session will look at the potential that wireless holds for online shopping and how the anytime-everywhere nature of wireless could create totally new online shopping experiences for consumers—and huge impulse sales opportunities for e-retailers. Our speaker is an m-commerce expert who will discuss what it will take in technology, site design and content and retailers' mindset to make m-commerce happen and how American Greetings implemented an m-commerce initiative late last year. He will discuss the results his company has achieved with wireless commerce and how other retailers can replicate that success.