Mobile Commerce

Wal-Mart is testing a system that would allow shoppers to use their iPhones to scan items and then pay for them at a self-checkout counter at a store in Rogers, Ark., near the company's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. The retailer's iPhone app already allows shoppers to create lists and see which items are in stock, but doesn't currently include a payment function.

CrossView, Inc., a cross-channel commerce solutions and services provider, released the results of its 2012 Cross-Channel Readiness survey that looked at retailers across a variety of categories, gauging improvements and declines in enabling customers to shop in-store, online, in call centers and via mobile with a consistent brand experience. This year's study showed improvement in several key areas from last year, particularly in mobile commerce, social sharing and consistency in marketing promotions.

How often do you use your smartphone to peruse a website? According to a recent survey, over the course of the past year visits to leading e-commerce websites from consumers’ mobile devices have skyrocketed. And the battle for smartphone supremacy is intensifying. This infographic illustrates the direction in which mobile commerce is headed, as well as shows the race between iPhone and Android.

I hope you’re geared up for Retail Online Integration's "Mobile Mania,” because this week we’re taking a look at Express, which has made mobile the center of its direct mail strategy with QR codes and text messaging.

Following tests that showed mobile point of sale (POS) successfully sped up the checkout process in its Rack stores, Nordstrom will roll out approximately 1,500 of the devices to its 110 Rack units by the end of this year's third quarter. This deployment is in addition to the mobile POS technology already in use in Nordstrom's 117 full-line stores. "We are constantly adding to the functionality of our mobile point-of-sale devices and their use in our stores is increasing," said Nordstrom president Blake Nordstrom during a recent conference call discussing second-quarter financial results. 

Shoppers armed with smartphones have become a major challenge for some brick-and-mortar retailers, according to a new eMarketer report, Adapting to a Showrooming World: How Retailers Are Earning Customer Loyalty. In 2011, InsightExpress found that more than one-half of smartphone owners said they had used their device for "showrooming" — i.e., looking at an item in-store before buying it online from a competitor at a lower price.

A bevy of big-name retailers including Wal-Mart, Best-Buy and Target are teaming up to create a company that will give consumers another way to make purchases: with their cellphones. The businesses said Wednesday that the new company, Merchant Customer Exchange, is developing a mobile application that will be available for nearly any smartphone. The app is expected to integrate a variety of coupons, rebates and loyalty programs.

Hello all! Welcome to another week of "Mobile Mania," where we select a retailer and discuss its approach to mobile strategy and integration. Many retailers have developed multichannel apps designed to complement the in-store shopping experience. Today we’ll take a look at Wal-Mart’s multichannel app for Android and iPhone.

The National Retail Federation (NRF), in partnership with its member companies, has launched the Integrated Mobile Initiative (IMI), a first-of-its-kind program that will serve as the single source for information about the challenges and opportunities that exist within mobile retailing. The initiative is being led by the NRF’s Senior Vice President of Communities and Executive Director of Shop.org Vicki Cantrell, with cooperative support and involvement from an external task force of retail companies and solution providers. The IMI aims to further strengthen the NRF’s message that policies which hinder innovation will inhibit retailers from catering to consumers across the world.

The impact that mobile will have on holiday shopping this year will be unlike anything we've ever seen. According to comScore, more than 234 million Americans own mobile devices. Even more staggering is Cisco's prediction that the number of internet-connected mobile devices on the planet will outnumber humans in 2012. Smartphones and tablets offer a level of accessibility and user engagement that can't be matched by any other platform, which is why brands and merchants need to make mobile their priority.