Your wireless wallet

In September we saw the launch of Google Wallet, a mobile phone app that lets users make credit card payments, collect loyalty points and participate in sales promotions.  The launch is part of a fresh wave of development that is pushing Mobile commerce to new frontiers.

In this short discussion, McKinsey’s Stephenson and David C. Edelman from JPMorgan Chase talk through current trends and future possibilities for Mobile commerce.  It’s a quick introduction to a topic that all marketers must stay abreast of, if they are to lead their firms competently through the next decade.

According to Edelman, the embedding of “Near Field Communication”(NFC), allowing users to tap their phones on a reader to exchange information or make a payment is a game changer.  It has the potential to take Mobile commerce beyond the internet and into in-store transactions.  To overcome the ubiquity and convenience of cash and credit cards, with NFC Mobile commerce can provide integrated services – perhaps connecting to location specific promotions or collecting loyalty points while accessing credit to make a payment.

Smart retailers like Best Buy, facing the risk of becoming an expensive showroom for cross shopping customers, are embracing the change.  Instead of fighting to keep the two worlds apart, they seek to integrate online research with the in store experience – where customers can pre-order, then pick up at the store; or visit the store to choose and still buy online.  Along the way, they are taking the opportunity to move low value tasks online, leaving the store environment for value added advice.

This seamless integration between the online and physical world won’t come easily to most brick and mortar operators.  They will need to re-architect the overall buying experience, dig deep for some expensive new point of sale equipment and recruit and train staff capable of advice based selling. They will also need to develop analytical CRM capabilities more the domain of online marketers.