Forget Your Well-Thought-Out Mobile Strategy: You Now Need Three
Written by Evan SchumanJanuary 21st, 2010
The most popular parlor game in retail tech circles these days is plotting out mobile strategies. For some, that strategy may be little more than "not now." But the simple act of trying to craft a single, coherent mobile strategy may itself be flawed. Most retailers now need to prep three distinct strategies for dealing with the three separate ways mobile devices will be used.
The mobile retail world has now neatly morphed into three categories: consumer-used (with true M-Commerce, mobile research from home and on the road, etc.); retailer-used (for price checks, inventory inquiries, in-aisle supply chain inquiries, etc.); and consumer-in-store (2D barcodes, price comparisons, SMS communications with the chain, watching demos, mobile research from within the store, direct payment, etc.). To make matters worse, some applications sit in multiple categories, such as a retailer-used device that is temporarily given to a consumer for checking online inventory or seeing a demo.
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2 Comments | Read Forget Your Well-Thought-Out Mobile Strategy: You Now Need Three
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-Christine
January 21st, 2010 at 9:55 am
The value proposition of mobility is multi-faceted because mobility is an enabler, not an end it itself. Mobility is actually a lot harder to do well than web-based applications. Networks are slower, devices are smaller (usability does matter) and there is no default mobile platform (hence the reason for carrying 3 phones) unlike the PC/Windows monopoly we love to hate. What is your mobile strategy? And perhaps just as importantly what is the strategy of the technology industry giants? Google is betting that the future lies with browser and micro-browser based applications, not app stores. These applications usually run on all mobile devices with an embedded browser. Apple and Research in Motion (BlackBerry) are trying to tie you in to writing “local” applications, distributed by an exclusive app-store (although RIM does allow over-the-air installers not using their app store), using their platform and API exclusively. The Google model gives you more portability and near universal support. It also does away with the updates/patches. The app is online and always up to date. This truly is software as a service. The Apple/RIM model gives you more local control, the ability to add peripherals (scanners) but does mean you have to write to one specific platform and install and update this software. Personally I believe that app stores are a stepping stone to a truly web service based world. I think the Google model will eventually eclipse the Apple/RIM model. Retailers should review their options and carefully evaluate which model is best for their current and future operations.
January 21st, 2010 at 10:10 am
ARTS has initially divided mobile apps into (1) Marketing and Loyalty, (2) Payments and m-Commerce, and (3) Operations (for employees), but your categories are interesting as well. Agree on the need for most retailers to address all three aspects, and the need for some sort of standardization of the platform. I have spoken with a couple companies that claim to automatically build native apps for different platforms from one source.
If each retailers builds 1-3 apps for 1-3 platforms, consumers will be overwhelmed. As more retailers enter this area, its going to get tougher to differentiate.
A few will get this right and lead the market.