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 Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul
Read more

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year
Read more

Global Digital Business and IT Consulting Outlook

Across the globe, CEOs and their leadership teams continue to seek information and guidance about planned Digital Transformation initiatives and the most effective enterprise organization change management practices. Worldwide IT and Business Services revenue will grow from $1.13 trillion in 2022 to $1.2 trillion in 2023 -- that's a 5.7 percent year-over-year growth, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The mid-term to long-term outlook for the market has also increased -- the five-year CAGR is forecast at 5.2 percent, compared to the previous 4.9 percent. Digital Sevices & Consulting Market Development IDC has raised the growth projection despite a weak economic outlook, because of vendor performances across 2022, growth indicators from adjacent markets, increased government funding, and inflation impacts. The actual 2022 market growth was 6.7 percent (in constant currency), which was 87 basis points higher than forecast last year, alth
Read more