Before they embark on a mCommerce journey, retailers and brand owners need to know where they are travelling to: in other words, they need to have a clearly-defined end goal.
By Omid Rezvani, Director Mobile Solutions, eCommera
They also need to carefully plan which steps they will take along the way and establish marker points for reviewing their progress. They also need to be prepared to adapt and change their mCommerce strategy as required and, above all, they need to keep going.
Mobile commerce can be challenging and complicated, as the mCommerce market and mobile technology are evolving at a dramatic pace and there is no proven model for success.
To enter the mCommerce sector, retailers and brand owners will need the infrastructure and staff to execute a multi-channel commerce strategy. They will need an app that can be used by customers on an extensive range of mobile devices and platforms: from iPhones and iPads to Android tablets and smartphones.
They’ll also need to ensure the app is integrated with back-end commerce systems and services and is continually updated, so that it’s compatible with new versions of mobile devices and operating system updates.
In addition, retailers and brand owners will need to be able to capture, understand and extract actionable insights from the mass of data generated by mCommerce and will need a strategy that will enable them to better interact with consumers and offer a seamless customer experience across multiple channels.
Some retailers will be able to address and manage all of these tasks internally. However, many will seek to work with an external partner that has the expertise and experience to deliver a fully managed mobile commerce service.
What to look for in a mCommerce partner
In looking for a mCommerce partner to work with, retailers and brand owners should choose a company that:
• Understands the retail market and can help design a mCommerce strategy and plan for execution
• Offers rapid time-to-market and has the ability to continually innovate the solution in line with updates to the strategy and changes to technology
• Offers the ability to work across multiple mobile platforms and devices
• Has the systems integration expertise to knit together the back-end systems that support the overall customer experience
• Delivers data insights that will help build future growth through the mobile channel.
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