Tag: mcommerce

Nordstrom has launched digital storefronts to accommodate mobile shoppers.

Long-time American fashion retailer Nordstrom has stood the test of time again and again due to the company’s fashion-forward thinking, and is now readying itself for a mobile commerce future.

Mobile technology could pave the way for a new digital shopping world.

Mobile commerce is becoming more prominent in the retail market, not just in terms of online shopping but in-store shopping, as well. With more and more consumers using smartphone devices, Nordstrom, one of the oldest department stores in the U.S., has every intention of appealing to the interests of these tech savvy consumers, now and in the future.

The next 30 years will be about appealing to the interest of consumers, in which mobile commerce will play a large roll.

If merchants want to please customers, they’ll need to stay on top of the latest trends, do what they can to predict the desires of consumers and satisfy them. According to Blake Nordstrom, the president of Nordstrom and the great-grandson of the company’s founder, John W. Nordstrom, although retailing will be different in the future, “there still will be customers who desire fresh new product. What that product is, how we satisfy the customer, that’s open.”

What will the future of retail look like? Nordstrom believes that aside from a more digital shopping experience that may include parametric technology that can provide consumers with a good idea of the way clothing may look and fit on their particular body type, without them having to try it on, current cash registers will no longer be around.

Instead, he says, “We see the future of point-of-sale as completely mobile.” Where the actual shopping takes place won’t matter so much as time goes on. Nordstrom believes that shoppers will use the most convenient platform to conduct their shopping. This will make it very important for mobile commerce to be implemented in-store.

Retail analysts foresee a big change in purpose for brick and mortar stores. Instead of their current role, they will provide a more sensory focused experience. Customers will physically interact with the items they are interested in purchasing, which they can buy remotely and have these products shipped.

Mobile commerce technology continues to be upgraded and developed and Nordstrom is ready to embrace a smartphone-friendly retail future.

Prototypes for second screen gadgets may increase shopping from television viewers.

Akamai Technologies has just unveiled the prototype for a new device that it is creating for the specific purpose of boosting m-commerce through its use in conjunction with a television that is being watched.

This device provides the viewer with content complementary to what is seen on TV, but on a smartphone or tablet.

In order to use this device, a mobile device would need to be synched with the television. This could be accomplished in a number of ways. In the Akamai m-commerce demonstration, the company used a QR code scan to accomplish that task. From that point, every program that was displayed on the television had content ID as well as a timestamp. This provided viewers with the opportunity to use their mobile devices to see content that was complementary to what they were watching, at the exact same time that it was occurring on the screen.

The result is a near real time m-commerce opportunity that would provide users with more relevant content.

According to the Akamai Technologies chief strategist of connected devices and gaming, Kris Alexander, “It’s something that can be synced in near-real time.” He added that “By the time somebody looks down from the primary screen it seems like the second screen is in real time.”

The demonstration of the prototype used preloaded content including a television show, a movie, and a basketball game. One of the examples that occurred during the movie was the display on a tablet of the model, price and link to purchase a pair of sunglasses over m-commerce that were similar to those being worn by an actor on the television screen. Another example occurred during the basketball game, when information about players who had just scored was displayed on the tablet, in addition to an option to purchase tickets to a future game.

Alexander explained that this second screen method of m-commerce is much less disruptive to the viewer than adding the content to the television screen, itself. He also pointed out that in theory, the content could be customized to each viewer, at some time down the road. For instance, if he or she logged in to a social media account, then the results displayed could be based on data about him or her gleaned from recent status updates and “likes”.