Here come the mini tablets. Or are they just big phones? With devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note its hard to tell. But if that size doesn’t work for you there’s many more like the iPad mini or Kindle fire HD. The widespread availability and low cost of these new devices is accelerating the mobile impact on PC shipments, and the PCs role in e-commerce. Results from research firm Gartner indicate that PC shipments were down 4.9% to 90.3m units, a drop which it did not attribute solely to a weak economy. “Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, “not so much by ‘cannibalizing’ PC sales, but by causing PC users to shift consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs.”
Additionally these mini tablets are highly portable and are being used more and more for impulse purchases. Like a phone many have built-in 4G access, cameras with QR code scanners, and even NFC near field communication. Here’s a list of several hundred mobile devices that are NFC enabled. http://goo.gl/IrqDX
So how does this all impact mobile commerce? One example, at CES we saw a demo from the first chain of NFC supermarkets in Paris. So forget about 3-D or HD have just old-fashioned 2-D where consumers can quickly scan to purchase items and have them ready for pickup or delivery. So in fact you could have a C store display in a Metro station linked to a vending machine for a fast automated shopping experience. Read more about the NFC supermarket here http://goo.gl/JfY8Z
NFC and QR code scanning is just the beginning. Engaging consumers in this way allows brands to opt in consumers for future offers, promotions, more product info.
Questions about m-commerce? Reach out to ApolloBravo the consumer engagement experts. http://www.apollobravo.com/contact/