Mobile Commerce Minute

Foursquare announced their new proactive recommendations recently and Chuck talks about the implications and caveats for this highly social service. I wonder if this is too little too late to save Foursquare.

The assault on the print industry has been monumental since we all started carrying smartphones and using tablets. The thing is that most people spending money on print will say it is effective, that it drives sales or store visits more effectively than other means (depending on the business). But a recent study during the Memorial Day holiday paints a very different picture...

There are so many similarities between the emerging mobile commerce world and the nascent commercial web and this includes the concern over security. But that is only the start. There is confusion here and it runs deeper than simply securing a transaction. For 88% of retailers YOU are the reason customers won't buy through mobile.

Watch out retailers, the mobile-only revolution is upon us and consumers are in control. Aside from the staggering number of mobile-only visitors to retailer websites, there is a massive difference in what they are interested in purchasing based on the device they carry. It is time to start thinking about the devices that your customers are using to serve up the most relevant content or risk leaving money on the table.

Of all the things mobile devices can do, apparently consumers are not as interested in actually closing the transaction on the device. The results of a Placed study confirms that trying to close too quickly will lead to fewer sales. Here's what they said.

There is so much promise around the concept of the mobile wallet - we all see it, even the consumer in us wants it. So why hasn't it taken hold? The answer is pretty simple. Watch the video.

You've carefully crafted and executed your mobile strategy. You've set expectations with your customers. You've created a strong marketing plan to help infiltrate the pockets of your customers. You've listened to experts. You've sold your board. You are ready for launch, what could go wrong? Well...this could happen and completely unravel all your efforts.

A brand new terrible term is reigning down on mobile marketers called "geo-conquesting" - clearly not coined by a good marketer...It is, for now, a great way for your competitors to use geofencing against you. The implications are big for now but can this survive the abuse that is about to be started at the hands of marketers? Not sure.

Are we more loyal to shopping and our devices than we are to merchants? The answer is yes and here are the numbers to prove it. This is not pretty if you are a retailer. You've been warned, now what are you going to do about it?

The rise, fall and slow rise again of the QR code is something of a business lesson unto itself. Busting out of the corner it was jammed into early in its day, the QR code may be ready to re-emerge. The thing is, marketers got lazy with them their first time around and the jury is out on their value BUT the tenacity of Scanbuy is a great business story.