// In The Press – M-commerce inches toward mainstream
14.02.08
Put simply, m-commerce enables you to buy products and services using a mobile phone. There are a few ways that this can be done: premium-rate SMS, WAP (wireless application protocol) sites with credit cards--the same as a web purchase but on a mobile internet site--and the recently launched Payforit scheme, which is authorised by all the UK mobile networks. Payforit simply charges the cost of the product or service directly to a customer’s phone bill.
Not very many companies are using m-commerce, with the notable exceptions of companies selling products and services for the mobile handset itself, such as games and wallpapers. So why should you introduce m-commerce to your customers?
Essentially, the reasons to branch out into m-commerce are exactly the same as those for expanding into ecommerce: It`s an additional sales channel that makes buying products easier for the consumer. And the main mobile-commerce applications involve getting products and services on handsets, a simple process that mirrors ecommerce.
There are significant differences, however: People will buy things that are familiar and easy to understand, products where detailed assessment isn`t required and concerns about quality are not present. In effect, common products from recognised brands will be the most likely to succeed in the short term. And m-commerce can take advantage of the deeply personal and immediate nature of mobile phone communication for ongoing CRM activity, to increase frequency of purchases and order value.
Nonetheless, m-commerce has yet to take off quickly, for several reasons:
- Premium SMS, the primary payment method, is unwieldy and costly for retailers.
- Up until the recent availability of WTLS (Wireless Transport Layer Security), mobile internet pages were not capable of properly secured transactions. Some say even WTLS isn`t good enough, as there could be holes at other points in the process, and not all phones can use WTLS anyway.
- Using credit cards via a mobile internet site is not user-friendly in any way.
- The much vaunted Payforit service is, like Premium SMS, expensive for retailers. And the process is difficult enough to leave people abandoning the ordering process halfway through.
In 2008 and 2009, faster connection speeds and enhanced handset functionality combined with better transaction security will allow companies to run m-commerce as it should be run. Hopefully a more user-friendly Payforit system will also be available.
Going forward, we’ll see online retailers moving solidly onto mobile. It`s simply a matter of providing mobile access to their existing technology, with websites that work on both mobiles and PCs.
A good example of where m-commerce is going is the iPhone. The handset has a small but full web display, which is great on wi-fi connections but absolutely painful on the iPhone’s silly non-3G connection. Once we have better handsets, easier-to-use handset software and, crucially, faster connections, most of the sites we see today will run perfectly well on the type of memory and processing power that will be available in our mobiles. PCs will always have faster connections and more power, so mobile will always be playing catch-up.
One thing is safe to say: The rise of m-commerce will mirror the rise of ecommerce. It’s definitely going to happen, so it’s best to get on with it now.
