mShopping Offers Mobile Commerce for Small Business

There will soon be a day when having an online storefront is no longer sufficient. Mobile is beckoning, and putting your products in a mobile storefront will soon to become just another part of doing business.

Mobile company mShopper just released its mobile commerce and marketing platform for retailers, e-commerce providers, and mobile developers. The release includes an entire suite of APIs that make it possible for a company to integrate its online initiatives with the mShopper platform, called the mStore.

The mShop platform is available at mShopperAPI.net. The platform can integrate existing shopping carts with mShopper's APIs for consumer database, product inventory, shipping costs, design themes, payment types, promotional codes, order processing, and SMS marketing.

The company went with an open API platform to make it easier for companies to integrate mobile into their existing business, and increase adoption.

"Facebook and Twitter proved that an open model is the secret to driving adoption of amazing software," said mShopper CEO David Gould. "By opening up our platform, we've given e-commerce providers the power to easily integrate customized mobile commerce solutions that they can offer their merchants, in time for the holidays."

While the company promotes this as an easy installation for the holiday season, the truth is many companies are entering a lock-down period where commerce, advertising, and marketing campaigns are already in place for the holidays with very little room for adjustment. It may more appropriately be the New Year's resolution you need to get your business to the next level.

Think of new ways a mobile site can offer your products that make sense. A distinct mobile platform shouldn't just be a port of the website to a mobile site with products presented in the same manner. Customers view the site, and each product offered, on a small screen. A new way to present product shots and ways to zoom in and out are necessary. The sales pitch can be tweaked to focus on a consumer who can make a quick decision, or may be comparison shopping while at a store.

Before you start building the mobile site, think of the possibilities mobile presents.

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