Are You Ready for Wireless Retailing?

We have all read the breathless predictions that consumers will soon be purchasing everything from soft drinks to appliances from their cell phones, and that they will welcome location-centric ads and coupons from stores they walk by.

Reality, however, is somewhat different. Adoption of the wireless channel in retail has been slow and purchases have been limited. Industry pundits who one year ago believed your best customers would be shopping from the road, the doctor's office, the bus, and everywhere in between, have all but disappeared.

So has the promise of wireless ecommerce fizzled?

Not at all. The wireless retail channel is here, but in its infancy. Both the vendors who deploy wireless technology and consumers who use it are maturing in their understanding of the channel.

Ecommerce on the Web was no different. According to Forrester Research, it takes consumers in the United States almost two years to become accustomed to buying merchandise over the Web. If wireless retail is following a similar path, the American consumer is just beginning to dabble with this new channel, and is getting ready to embrace it. The wireless promise is beginning to turn into reality.

What's the best investment strategy for the wireless channel?

The CIO should consider a three-part plan. First, make wireless retail an integral part of your company's multitouch customer strategy. Wireless is just one of many ways—including the store, catalog, kiosk, Web, etc.—through which customers will access your products and services. And while wireless is not yet the channel of choice for entering lots of information, it does, given its mobility and accessibility, represent an ideal channel to check order status, locate a store, or research a product. Avoid the tendency to apply ROI models and to manage wireless as a separate business. Instead, learn about how the wireless channel fits into the customer's usage patterns and measure how it has impacted the customer's lifetime value.

Second, make the value obvious to targeted customer segments. Just rendering your current business accessible via a wireless device is not enough. Understand the differences in how your customers use the Web, wireless and store channels. Then define the customer segments that will most benefit from your wireless services, and devise programs that create benefit for both you and that customer. Also, understand the limitations of handheld devices (e.g., small screen size) and design the site experience appropriately. In principle, the successful wireless service should reduce transaction time and cost for the customer while also increasing sales or reducing cost for the retailer.

Third, as you consider your wireless strategy, select platforms and vendors that have proven over the years to have lasting power and a consistent and clear commitment to open standards. These qualities are particularly critical in this nascent, wireless ecommerce world. If your technology partner does not currently have investments in multiple wireless standards, then you might wish to reconsider your alignment.

Most of all, don't wait, because your competitors aren't. The wireless ecommerce promise is ready to create real business value. Why not lead the way?



Renato da Costa is product marketing manager for BroadVision, a Redwood City, Calif.-based supplier of ecommerce applications.