1)Why Mcommerce is is different than Ecommerce
It is becoming clear through data patterns and user studies that mobile plays a far greater role in augmenting a real world shopping experience rather than simply allowing an actual mobile purchase. Using location among other data points Mcommerce is a continuum or sequence of events that can work before, during and after the sale. This may happen over a few hours, days or weeks. Mcommerce can notify of sales. It can ping you when you are physically near the retail location. It can support shopping in store with information, community opinion, direction and price comparison. It can extend the shopping experience after sale with sharing and follow up loyalty messaging. So Mcommerce should not be thought of as the moment of sale. It is the amalgam of all of the stages of a marketing funnel. A portable personal shopper that can do everything except take out your wallet in store. And that is not far behind.
2)We know the iPad is different - we’re just not sure how
Consistent among tablet discussions at the recent Mobile Upfront is where do they fit in your connected life? Which device does it replace? Or is it yet another brick to carry? The answer is a qualified yes. The tablet clearly has a place as a new device. its portability and size make it far better suited for media consumption and game play when away from a desk (stat: 84% of ipad users have played a game on it. Not a huge surprise…). So it offers mobility out of the house but also inside. The tablet becomes the device you can carry room to room rather than the laptop (ideal for dual screen viewing). Healthcare has been a hot tablet (well - ipad) topic. One panel discussion noted 40% of doctors have them now. 75% will have one in a year. For may part a recent visit to a shoulder specialist ended with an ipad video of the surgery I might need. Gross but helpful (I opted out). And no doubt he played solitaire on it after I left.
3)We must recalibrate ROI for mobile
In some ways this is the same conversation had about digital media in general for years. Is it direct response or a brand awareness tool? Mobile is beset with similar - if not unclear expectations. As is being demonstrated with the emergence of Mcommerce a transaction in the mobile space can be many things short of a sale. Proving value should be a mix of audience quality, engagement and to a lesser extent some data or $$ exchange.
2011 has again been touted as the year of mobile. From our vantage point at The Concept Farm this is the decade of mobility. Smart phone penetration is below 50% (probably below 40%) and new technology including enhanced Bluetooth and mobile payments mean mobile innovation will continue to make news for some time. Continued device penetration, new technology and new consumer habits will open new (and exciting) ways for marketers to market in the coming years.
Posted by Matt