Emerging Mobile Ecommerce 

The emerging ecommerce frontier is the mobile marketplace via cellphones and other portable devices. Since 80% of adult Americans already own cell phones, it is likely that shopping via the small screen will become increasingly common in the years to come. Micropayments for small things like parking meters, vending machines, tolls, and goods and services that cost only a few dollars will be made using portable gadgets like cell phones and PDAs. The micropayment transactions will be facilitated by secure internet connections.

Cell phones and PDAs may be used not only for making local and long distance calls but for email, picture-taking, texting friends, listening to music, reading the news, checking the weather and sports scores, watching the latest videos and live television, and buying goods and services. These mobile devices can function as shopping assistants remembering birthdays, sizes and preferences, as well as storing or sending photos of potential purchases. As location-aware devices, they may serve ads and/or coupons as consumers near a store or restaurant. Like the broadband internet, these mobile devices will benefit consumers because they are always on and ready to support ecommerce on the move.

Depending on your point of view, most mobile web browsers are severely limited or nicely focused. The screen is relatively uncluttered so that the content takes centerstage. Most recent phones can show photos and videos that are small but clear. Some can be used as mp3 devices and provide pretty good playback. The more expensive cell phones like the IPhone are a delight to view and hint at what the future may bring to the web.

What People Look for in a Mobile Phone Service

If you want to get an idea of what the mobile internet might look like in the future, consider some statistics from the summer of 2008.

First, the results of a survey of people looking for a new cell phone showed the features that are the most important to users. The survey was conducted by Access Systems Americas in cooperation with Amplitude Research.

• 73% - Text messaging
• 67% - Camera
• 63% - Email capability
• 61% - Internet access
• 34% - Music
• 33% - Video playback
• 0.5% - Battery life
• 0.33% - Voice activation

The survey also touched on how people currently use their cell phones:

• 88% - Consider it very important to have a cell phone for emergencies
• 41% - Send or check emails one to five times a day
• 40% - Use their cell phones for traffic, weather, and stock market alerts
• 39% -Added new applications to their cell phones
• 30% - Use their cell phones for banking transactions or checking balances
• 28% - Do not use their cell phones for email

Second: The second version of the iPhone was released worldwide and sold over a million in one weekend. The new iPhone is more powerful, runs on a faster network, and has real business applications available. The phone costs a bit less but the data plan costs more.

Marketing and Selling Mobile Goods and Services

For most people their first foray into mobile ecommerce was buying a ringtone and charging it to their phone bill. The most popular ringtones are remixes of hit songs and cost only a buck or two. Using a distinctive ringtone is a way of declaring who you are and what you like in the way of music. It's an important mobile accessory.

Mobile phone vendors have made it easy to buy and install ringtones. While ringtones can be bought online and then downloaded to a cell phone, it is even easier to buy and install ringtones from a web-empowered phone. Buying a ringtone using your mobile phone may be the first step that leads to buying other media like games, songs, or videos for use on your cellphone. Activist groups and political campaigns have successfully offered ringtones as rewards for texting contact information.

Mobile vendors require opt-in permissions before an organization can text one of their clients. That permission can come from a web sign-up form or a text message sent to the organization. Opt-in permissions can be cancelled by the end user at any time for any reason by replying to a message with the word "STOP."

Since texting is most popular with highly mobile young people in their teens and twenties, it has become an important way to reach them. But more and more older adults are using text messages for business purposes.Text messages (SMS) are an inexpensive way to reach people who are interested in a particular product or service. Possible uses include sending:

• Health related weather alerts
• Coupons for shoppers or diners
• Addresses of new houses on the market
• A list of specials at a grocery store
• Updates about kosher products
• Reminders about overdue videos
• Confirming appointments
• Check inventory for a particular product
• A message to dispatch a worker to a new job site

Note: While it may seem strange to use cell phone coupons, it's actually quite simple. The text message should tell recipients how to redeem the coupon by showing the cell phone message to a cashier or waiter.

Text Message Marketing

You may recall a time in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when broadcast fax was popular for sending updates to customers and local media. With the advent of the internet, email became the dominant platform for distributing breaking news, vendor updates, and customer newsletters. RSS is now the preferred way to reach many of the same contacts. For short messages that are time- or location-critical, text messaging is a useful way to contact people. Short message service (SMS) can also be a cost-effective way to stay in contact with clients and supporters.

It is important to remember that texting is an interactive medium. There are three types of texting:

1. One to one or person to person texting is the most common form of texting. If you know someone's mobile phone number and carrier, you can send a personal message. Examples: Sending a message to pick up milk or remember the dry cleaning.
2. One to many texting is a form of broadcast messaging. One person or organization can send a short message to multiple recipients. Example: Severe Weather warnings or Amber Alerts.
3. Many to one texting occurs when many people send a message to the single recipient. Examples: Voting, signing a petition, or submitting a contest entry.

Remember one to many texting requires opt-in permission from recipients.

If you live in the United States, you are probably familiar with the use of text messaging to vote for contestants on American Idol. Many fans learned to text message to vote for their favorite contestant. Each season the number of text message responses grew. According to AT&T American Idol generated 78 million messages during the 2008 season. The messages include responses to Idol themed content like contests as well as voting for favorite performers.

Of the many organzations making use of text messaging for local sales and service, none presents a clearer set of instruction for potential customers than Papa John's. To get a list of the nearest restaurants, just text your zipcode to 4PAPA (47272). If you register on the Papa John's website, you can select up to four favorites. To oder your first favorite, text FAV1to 4PAPA. You will get a reply confirming your order, delivery address, and method of payment. If the message is correct, reply by texting Y1. You can also sign up for promotional text or send keyword DEALS to 4PAPA.

Mobile users may also subscribe to a series of alerts from a trusted source. For example, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will send free and up-to-date air quality alerts to email and SMS subscribers.

To avoid the problem of SMS spam, recipients must opt-in by contacting the sender first. Mobile users can opt-in by sending a text message to a short code or filling out a web form. If they fill out a web form, they must include a mobile text address. The text address is also a mobile email address, if the phone supports that feature. A text address is the mobile phone number followed by the carriers email domain. For example, an AT&T mobile phone text address would be 10digitnumber@txt.att.net.

If you think you have never used text messaging, think again. If you have a cell phone, you may have sent a message to your carrier requesting to find out how many minutes you have remaining. Your message went to a 3 digit short code that is used by your carrier for just that purpose. Three digit short codes are reserved for carrier use.

Mounting a text marketing campaign can be quite expensive if you want to reach thousands of mobile users. Obtaining your own short code and setting up the necessary software requires considerable resources - both financial and technical. It is much easier to use a company that specializes in mobile applications to do the hard work for you so you can focus on the campaign. Most companies which provide systems for managing sending and receiving text messages charge a set-up and monthly fees based on the number of messages.

Text messaging applications worth checking out include:

• TextMarks is a free and very easy to use service to send text messages to multiple recipients.
• Sendible lets you schedule and send free SMS, email, or social network messages to your contact list. The service also supports message ad campaigns. With Sendible Ads you can create text ads, specify a keyword, and include your ad in Sendible messages related to your keyword.
• HelloTxt manages and distributes status updates and messages to microblogging applications like Twitter, social networks, email, and SMS.
• Poll Everywhere is an inexpensive voting application that works with live audiences. Polls are embedded within presentations or web pages and are updated in real time. Fees are based on the number of messages per poll. Polling is free for under 30 votes.