Author: Stephen

Mobile commerce may be boon for web merchants

Web merchants may be starting to feel the need to embrace mobile commerce

Mobile commerceMobile payments are rapidly gaining the adoration of consumers around the world. Being able to make purchases for goods and services without using any kind of physical currency is considered to be both convenient and straightforward. For consumers, the advent of mobile commerce simply means a new way to pay for the things they want. The rise of the mobile commerce industry could mean something else entirely for online businesses that rely on the Internet and electronic mediums to serve customers.

Evolution of the Internet brings about significant changes to global market

When the Internet was young, web merchants used to cater only to the most tech-savvy of consumers. Now that everyone seems to have an intimate familiarity with the Internet, web merchants have had to adapt to appeal to a wider, more varied audience. Mobile commerce is the latest challenge that web merchants will have to adapt to or risk being left behind by consumers, lost in the ever growing tide of competition.

Web merchants have flexibility in mobile commerce pursuits

Web merchants have a variety of ways they can approach the issue of mobile commerce, but the vast majority of these approaches rely on NFC technology. Platforms like Google Wallet and the imminent Isis enable consumers to make payments using their smart phones, but businesses must be equipped to facilitate such transactions. Web merchants have some flexibility in the platforms they choose to support because they are not limited to physical technology, such as NFC terminals. This flexibility allows merchants to engage consumers who favor various types of mobile commerce platforms.

Platforms could be ideal for reaching out to consumers

Web merchants embracing mobile commerce will likely find NFC-based platforms ideal for marketing new products, discounts, and loyalty programs. Such initiatives can ensure repeat business, especially if consumers are treated with a memorable and well-crafted experience. Despite the benefits that mobile commerce can bring to web merchants, however, some businesses are expected to see more success in their endeavors than others. Whether mobile commerce is the best option for web merchants in an evolving world market is difficult to say for sure.

Future Robot lands massive sale for FURO robots

FURO capable of engaging consumers with variety of services

Future Robot, a maker of so called people-friendly robotics, has won a major order for its NFC-enabled kiosk known as FURO. The FURO — literally “polite” in Japanese, though Future Robot is a South Korean company — is a robotic kiosk that is designed to engage consumers in a friendly manner and provide them with services and information using a large touchscreen display. The FURO is the first South Korean robot to be released in the European market, making its debut earlier this year at the CeBIT event in Germany.

Future Robot sells over 100 FURO units to Brazilian company

Future Robot has not yet released information regarding the buyer of its FURO robots apart from that the company is located in Brazil. The Brazilian company has ordered more than 100 units of the FURO, which is plans to transform into mobile billboards that will be used in airports and exhibitions around the country. Because the robots are equipped with NFC technology, they could help in expanding the mobile commerce scene in Brazil and encourage consumers to conduct mobile transactions with their smart phones.

FURO could provide mobile commerce services

FURO is designed to actively approach people and make a short greeting before explaining the services it wishes to provide. Those not interested in engaging the robot can simply walk away without worrying about the machine following them wherever they go. Future Robot notes that the FURO has a wide range of uses in marketing, but it can also be used for practical tasks, such as serving as a waiter in a restaurant or as a sort of cashier providing mobile commerce services.

Purpose of robots not yet fully known

The particular details regarding how the Brazilian company that purchased the robots will use them have not yet been revealed. There is a possibility that the FURO will help establish a stronger presence for mobile commerce in Brazil, as it will allow travelers passing through the country’s airports to make purchases of goods from local shops without having to stand in line or worry about converting their currency.