Skip to main content

Renewed Demand for SMS Mobile Commerce Apps


Consider this U.S. retailer scenario. A customer calls a store about product availability. The product isn't in stock, so the in-store salesperson enters the consumer's mobile phone number into an automated alert system -- whereby an SMS message is sent to the consumer when the product is re-stocked. The consumer replies by SMS, and the product is put aside -- awaiting pick-up.

If you live in the United States, when has a retailer offered this simple value-added service to you? Yes, it's a rhetorical question. I've been asking similar questions since I wrote a related editorial for Telephony magazine -- way back in 2004.

Fast-forward to today. eMarketer reports that tech-savvy shoppers place great demands on multichannel retailers. A majority expect to be able to track, modify, complete and order from any channel -- according to a July 2010 survey from Sterling Commerce.

Busy consumers expect "smart-shopping" options: from product research to purchase and delivery.

As smartphones continue to proliferate and people routinely use their phone as a shopping channel, retailers must be ready to offer capabilities through a mobile device. Keeping in mind, the de facto capability on all phones is still SMS, and remains under-utilized by most businesses.

While many retailers focus on the price-comparison ability of smartphones, web users surveyed by Sterling Commerce said the single most important shopping function of a mobile phone is stock checks.

Retailers apparently still struggle with accurate assessments of in-store product availability. But as the Sterling Commerce report says, product availability is becoming a necessity for impatient shoppers: "Nearly two thirds (66 percent) of consumers surveyed considered it important to very important to be able to conveniently determine in-stock availability before visiting a store."

Internet users also told Sterling Commerce that looking up product availability was the feature they would most like to see in a retailer's branded mobile app. It was valued over store location info and in-store product reviews.

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Identity Verification Market to Reach $16.7B

As more enterprise organizations embrace the ongoing transition to digital business transformation, CIOs and CTOs are adopting new technologies that enable the secure identification of individuals within their key stakeholder communities. A "digital identity" is a unique representation of a person. It enables individuals to prove their physical identity during transactions. Moreover, a digital identity is a set of validated digital attributes and credentials for online interactions -- similar to a person's identity within the physical world. Individuals can use a 'digital ID' to be verified through an authorized digital channel. Usually issued or regulated by a national ID scheme, a digital identity serves to identify a unique person online or offline. Digital Identity Systems Market Development Complementary to more traditional forms of identification, digital identity verification systems can enhance the authenticity, security, confidentiality, and efficiency of
Read more

Software-Defined Infrastructure: The Platform of Choice

As more organizations adapt to a hybrid working model for their distributed workforce, enterprise CIOs and CTOs are tasked with delivering new productivity-enabling applications, while also seeking ways to effectively reduce IT cost, complexity, and risk. Traditional IT hardware infrastructure is evolving to more software-based solutions. The worldwide software-defined infrastructure (SDI) combined software market reached $12.17 billion during 2020 -- that's an increase of 5 percent over 2019, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The market grew faster than other core IT technologies. The three technology pillars within the SDI market are: software-defined compute (53 percent of market value), software-defined storage controller (36 percent), and software-defined networking (11 percent). "Software-defined infrastructure solutions have long been popular for companies looking to eliminate cost, complexity, and risk within their data cente
Read more

Global Pandemic Accelerates the Evolution of Transportation

Given the current trends across the globe, organizations that depend upon the continued growth of personal vehicle ownership will need to consider a plan-B scenario. While some companies will be able to adapt, others may find that their traditional business model has been totally disrupted. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) will displace over 2.2 billion private car journeys by 2025 -- that's rising from 471 million in 2021. Juniper believes that for MaaS to enjoy widespread adoption, subscription or on-the-go packages need to offer a strong combination of transport modes along with feasible infrastructure changes, high potential for data collection and low barriers to MaaS deployments. Mobility-as-a-Service Market Development The concept of MaaS involves the provision of multi-modal end-to-end travel services through a single platform by which users can determine the best route and price according to real-time traffic
Read more