Using cell phones to window shop: Retailers adopting mobile tech
Retailers are starting to adapt to the technological advances of cell phones to provide shoot and purchase capabilities. The Manhattan Norma Kamali boutique will soon enable this capability for window shoppers, allowing passerby’s to purchase clothing even after the store has closed. Advertisers expect mobile ads to blossom in 2010, and have been waiting for mobile purchasing to take off to boost ad revenues. The New York Times reports on the future of the technology:
Ms. Kamali is at the forefront of a technological transformation coming to many of the nation’s retailers. They are determined to strengthen the link between their physical stores and the Web, and to use technology to make shopping easier for consumers and more lucrative for themselves.
The main way they plan to do it is by turning people’s mobile phones into information displays and ordering devices. Can’t find the flour at the grocery store? Grocers will offer phone applications that tell shoppers exactly where to go. Is the department store out of size 8 jeans? Retailers want to make it simple to punch a couple of buttons and have the desired size shipped home.
Some supermarkets intend to offer real-time coupons while people shop. For example, a promotion for milk may be sent to a shopper’s mobile phone the moment her cart rolls into the dairy aisle. Drugstores will offer loyalty programs on cellphones, not on plastic cards. And specialty chains will allow shoppers to breeze through the aisles compiling a wedding registry, just by pointing at merchandise.
Other stores with plans to implement the technology include Sam’s Club, Crate & Barrel, and Disney stores. Read more from The New York Times.
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Cell phones should be made in such a way that they are not harmful to the users and to the environment. With the world going green, mobile phone manufacturers should think of ways of churning out gadgets that are eco-friendly.