Mobile Commerce

As use of digital signage increases, the price of equipment comes down, consumers become more mobile savvy, and digital and mobile begin to integrate through proximity technology, it becomes increasingly important for retailers to consider these new forms of communication.

Shopkick’s location-based shopping app lets users implicitly check in to the locations of its retail partners in exchange for rewards. The startup’s 750,000 users have paid it in-kind with more than 100 million check-ins in the six months since launch.

To help meet customers' desire for immediacy during the shopping experience, Nordstrom President Blake Nordstrom announced that the retailer will deploy mobile devices for its store employees by this fall.

Beso.com, an online destination for fashionphiles and taste-based shoppers, has announced the launch of its mobile shopping app for the iPhone and iPad platforms. Shoppers can now browse their favorite brands and stores in apparel, shoes, handbags and more while on the go.

Mobile devices accompany consumers everywhere throughout a busy day. Through mobile initiatives, retailers have unique opportunities to engage with consumers as they move through each purchase phase — whether they're in a store, in transit, at work or at home.

Many online retailers say half of mobile commerce is already coming from tablet devices, and more purchases are likely to come from tablets throughout 2011, according to a recent report from research firm Forrester.

Luxury marketers have been given an around-the-clock opportunity to sell, as more and more affluent shoppers are heading online through computers and increasingly via mobile device to make purchases.

Sears Holdings is letting consumers order groceries, pharmaceutical prescriptions and other products using their smartphones and pick them up at the nearest Kmart or get them delivered. Sears launched its mygofer service to respond to the evolution of the traditional grocery store concept from bricks-and-mortar stores to shopping for food and prescriptions online and directly via consumers' phone.

Zappos, which was founded in 1999 as a shoe seller, is a relative newbie to mobile. It started developing apps only six months ago, and launched an iPad app in October followed by an iPhone app in December.

At the National Retail Federation's BIG Show in New York City this week, Andrew Koven, president of e-commerce and customer experience at Steve Madden, co-presented a session where he shared some secrets to his company's recent success in the mobile space.