Mobile commerce technologies from near field communications (NFC) to digital wallets, pitch targeting, and location-based marketing are all on the cusp of taking off, and leaders in mobile web services, such as Google, are bracing themselves for impact.
Customers are already capable of shopping without the use of their credit cards as long as they swipe their mobile device over a special point of sale reader. Though this is not yet available everywhere, it is about to become much more common and it is expected to do so very quickly.
All this will be available through technologies such as NFC, which allows data to be exchanged over a very short distance. This way, tapping or waving a mobile device over the “tag” on the retailer’s cash register will allow a transaction to occur between the retailer and the mobile user’s credit card or bank account.
NFC technology also allows marketers to identify when a consumer carrying a smartphone that has an NFC enabled chip is nearby, so that they can promote certain brands or products. By using location-based marketing through smartphones, messages can be delivered directly to consumers at the moment that they are most likely to be open to considering them.
CEO Michael “Mick” Mullagh of the NFC system and software provider, ViVOtech, said that “Mobile NFC commerce offers a marketing tool, an ad tool and a product information tool.” He added that this technology provides the opportunity for an entirely new way to communicate with customers and influence them as they prepare to make a purchase.
