Going Mobile In-Store: First Pile Up The Complexities, Then Simplify
Written by Frank HayesApril 11th, 2011
What's so hard about using mobile devices in-store? Apple and Home Depot are already doing it. Nordstrom is kicking around ideas. Although most retailers are already deep into mobile commerce—where customers use their phones to buy when they're outside a store—few are flipping that scenario so that associates use mobile in-store, especially as POS devices. The problem, according to one retail IT exec: In-store mobile generates a dizzying array of options, and picking through them all seems next to impossible.
As that exec pointed out in a recent conversation, "Mobile POS is all trendy and cool right now, but it may not be the right answer to your problem." On the other hand, the possibilities don't have to be endless, especially if you start from what it's practical for mobile devices to do in your stores instead of starting with a device and imagining the possibilities.
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