Why is it too early for mobile shopping to take off? Carriers don’t strike deals unless the provider’s proven that their product will cause customers to use their phones more often, thus increasing data usage, etc. Bigger bills = happier carriers.

So I don’t think it’s an iPhone dig — because the two are pretty unrelated — but either a great sales job on behalf of mShopper or evidence that something is brewing here.

The mobile Web is like the Web circa 1996; the rules are still being written and all the trends are in favor of players who make early moves. Kids in middle school prefer the mobile platform over the Internet, so I’d say it’s a smart move. And I’d say that we’re ready.

Scott, I’m sure you have a blackberry, which means you already have a good web browser. If you’re going to purchase something right here, right now, are you going to use the web browser or a specialized service like mShopper?

Most people who have an iPhone are going to use their web browser b/c Apple has made it such a better experience. Long term, Apple is going to force everyone else to improve the web browsing experience as well. In other words Apple’s iPhone poses a threat to mobile ringtone services, mobile gaming services, and mobile shopping services. No, the change won’t happen over night, so there’s plenty of opportunity now, but I just don’t think mShopper is anything special and that there’s much need for it right this second. People might check prices on their phones - and besides a web browser, there are a lot of services that let you do that - but I don’t think we’re in the buy over the phone mindset yet.

At the same time, I think there’s a huge opportunity for local shopping and mobile shopping to converge - that’s why I like GPShopper’s Slifter (which has been available on the Sprint network for a while…and is working with Channel Intelligence). I think location based services (LBS) make a LOT of sense. Some push services that send out coupons based on preferences and location make a lot of sense, too.

You’re right, carriers want to launch services like this to increase data usage. Over time, calls will cost almost nothing and average revenue per user (ARPU) will increase because of data services. So it makes sense for Sprint to launch something like a shopping application which has the potential to increase data usage. Just because they are launching it, though, doesn’t mean people will use it. I think of this more as another arrow in Sprint’s quiver. It’s nice to have, but we’re just not going to see sales ringing up through our phones this holiday shopping season. This could be the season we really do start to price check on our cell phones, but purchase? Just don’t think we’re there.

If you consider the less than .05 percent of mobile phone users who own iPhones (based on my calcs, some estimate this to be up to 1.8 percent) to be the mainstream mobile user, then mShopper is screwed. And while I couldn’t find smartphone stats, it’s no secret that standard cell phones vastly outnumber smartphones and are in reach of a larger number of arguably mainstream consumers. Even if the iPhone gets 10 percent of the market in 2011 (as projected), these still aren’t mainstream users.

So, the average cell phone has no browser and users are dependent upon the portals that cell providers define. If a service can negotiate a deal where their link is on the portal, it’s tons of free traffic.

I know of a mobile social network that negotiated a deal with a cell phone portal and is getting a huge percentage of their traffic from them.

Further — a cell phone user in a younger or lower-income demographic snacks on information between work, school, classes, while they’re in bed — whatever. They don’t have access to a computer when they’re working or on the move, so the phone provides a great platform to purchase while on the go or to impulse buy.

Great take here, btw: http://blogs.mediapost.com/mobile_insider/?p=115

Mobile extensions for existing sites are possible today. WAP as a stable, xhtml friendly platform is now ubiquitous and monetizable globally.

What is broken is client-downloadable or natively integrated interfaces that really highlight a new retail consumption experience. Supporting clients across all devices are too frictional. LBS, cameraphone, and billing APIs have to be more open to allow any retailer to create a new revenue tail. These things will proliferate in about two years as these software layers are getting integrated right now.

And, don’t read too much into a Sprint deal, or any other operator deal… What matters more is if consumers care.

- operator representative

So, I agree with parts of what you are saying Brian and parts of what Scott is saying.

Are we ready for mobile shopping?
Definitely. The fact that ~75% of US adults carry a cell phone, the device that enables it, is reason enough.

Is the web browser better suited for this experience than any service?
No. First, Scott is right. The majority of users don’t have smartphones with web browsers anyways… but they can access mShopper through their Sprint portal page. Although I consider cell providers’ “portals pages” similar to the walled garden of the AOL days, people still use this stuff. You are also arguing, Brian, that if you do have a mobile browser, using that is preferable to any specialized service. Aren’t you the CSE guy? Right now I could use my desktop browser to visit 5,000 different retailers sites, or I could goto Nextag.com instead… thats the value of the comparison shopping service. Why is that not the same for mobile shopping? Or do you simply think that services like mShopper are not comprehensive enough YET?

Regardless, mobile price checking inevitably leads to mobile purchasing if we do have access to a comprehensive selection of retailers. Brian, you made the point that “this could be the season we really do start to price check on our cell phones, but purchase? Just don’t think we’re there.” So, what are we going to do with that price check information we get from our cell phone (primarily, discovering that the TV we are looking at in Best Buy is $300 cheaper from JR.com) if not use it to purchase the item??? I agree, the transactions may not occur directly through the phones yet… but the phones may be the enabler. I may leave Best Buy and return to my house to log onto JR.com and purchase the TV. This should be counted as a mobile “enabled” sale. Price check information is worthless unless you use it to direct your purchase.

What the above scenario will do to brick and mortar retailers’ marketing strategies is really interesting and The MobileInsider post that Scott referenced is an interesting read on this: http://blogs.mediapost.com/mobile_insider/?p=115

I could not disagree more w/ Brian. Since iphone launched, we have setup tracking out of curiosity to track how many customers who shop my websites make purchases w/ their iphones. The numbers were shocking. The very first day of tracking (which we started about a week ago), recorded over 6 orders that were made using an iphone. Avg ticket $350. Mobile shopping is here. 12% of my coworkers (out of 100+) own iphones and the number is quickly increasing. So believe bryan based on assumptions, i am going w/ the facts and results.

Thanks, Faucetguru! Nice to hear some real data.
Hope a lot of people prove me wrong.
The iPhone is an incredible device and because it provides an amazingly familiar web browsing ability, I guess people aren’t going to hesitate to buy. I still think people will hesitate to buy through apps like mShopper, though.

Hello everyone,

My name is David Gould. I am, in fact, the CEO of mShopper. I am honored by the intelligent discourse surrounding Sprint’s recent launch of their Mobile Shopper service which we power. All these discussion threads are ones that we continue to discuss, even to this day.

Obviously I am not going to disclose data. Indeed, I am precluded from doing so by our contract. But I can happily say this unequivocably: the question of whether the world is ready for mobile shopping is a moot point
What we have learned over the last 2.5 years (we have been in development for that length of time) is that the keyword in mobile phone is not the ‘phone’, its the ‘mobile’.

Taking into account the user’s mobility is indeed the key to developing any successful mobile application. Technology will surely make surfing existing web sites more viable, but that, in fact, is not the issue. As it relates to mobile shopping, the issue is what is the mobile shopping imperative and how can one application address this elegantly, simply, and quickly.

I hope this helps! Thanks again for all of the interesting discourse.

All the best,

David Gould