Information AboutMobile Commerce |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MOBILE COMMERCE | |
| electronic commerce | |
| mobile telephony | |
|
HISTORY Mobile commerce was coined in the late 1990s during the Dot-com Boom . The idea that highly profitable mobile commerce applications would be possible through the Broadband Mobile Telephony provided by 2.5G and 3G cellphone services was one of the main reasons for hundreds of billions of dollars in Licensing Fees paid by European telecommunications companies for UMTS and other 3G licenses in 2000 and 2001. PDAs and cellular phones have become so popular that many businesses are beginning to use m-commerce as a more efficient method of reaching the demands of their customers. Although technological trends and advances are concentrated in Asia and in Europe, North America (Canada and the United States) is also beginning to experiment with early-stage m-commerce. The recent alliance between Sprint Nextel and Clearwire for WiMAX networks being built for completion by 2008 will acclerate the more data-intensive 4G Networks that will provide a turning point in m-commerce in North America.The forthcoming spectrum auction by FCC , scheduled for early 2008, portends major auction rule changes that are geared for more consumer options and less control by telecom operators as "network gatekeepers". The auction rule changes are being pushed by Google , irking Verizon Wireless and AT&T and signifying a big change coming to m-commerce. PRODUCTS & SERVICES AVAILABLE Mobile Ticketing Tickets can be sent to mobile phones using a variety of technologies including BCODE and NFC . Users are then able to use their tickets immediately by presenting their phones at the venue. Recently, WiMAX-enabled dashtop mobile payment platforms made a debut, enabling users to enter 7-digit alphanumeric ID on kiosk keypads at the entrance of ballparks, airports and expos instead of physical tickets, but this dashtop mobile equipment will take some years to get commercially implemented. The travel industry, in realizing the possible benefits of m-commerce, is working on technologies that will take care of travel arrangements, update customers on flight status, notify them when this information changes and will offer to make new arrangements based on preset user preferences requiring no input from the user. Therefore, a customer’s entire trip can be scheduled and maintained using only their mobile devices. Mobile ticketing for airports, ballparks,and expos for example, will not oly streamline unexpected metropllitan traffic surgers, but also help Users secure parking spots remotely while in the vehicles and help mass surveillance at transport hubs significantly. In ballpark environments, black market will disappear, creating an overwhelming economy on the part of consumers. Mobile Vouchers/Coupons/Loyalty Cards Mobile ticketing technology can also be used for the distribution of vouchers/coupons/loyalty cards. The voucher, coupon or loyalty card is represented by a token that is sent to the mobile phone. Presenting a mobile phone with one of these tokens at the Point Of Sale allows the customer to receive the same benefits as another customer who has a loyalty card or other paper coupon/voucher. Mobile delivery enables:
Content Purchase & Delivery Currently, mobile content purchase and delivery mainly consists of the sale of ring-tones, wallpapers, and games for mobile phones. The convergence of mobile phones, mp3 players and video players into a single device will result in an increase in the purchase and delivery of full-length music tracks and video. Download speeds, if increased to 4G levels,will make it possible to buy a movie on a mobile device in a couple of seconds, while on the go. A new online shopping trend of "booking on the web for pickup later in stores" is evolving into a new concept: Just In Time(JIT) pickup for mobile shopping behind the wheel. This JIT pickup for mobile shopping indicates a "real-time bridge between virtual world and real world". Location Based Services Unlike a home PC, the location of the mobile phone user is an important piece of information used during mobile commerce transactions. Knowing the location of the user allows for Location Based Service s such as:
Information Services A wide variety of information services can be delivered to mobile phone users in much the same way as it is delivered to PCs. These services include:
Particularly, more customized traffic information, based on Users' travel patterns, will be multicast on a differentiated basis, instead of broadcasting the same news and data to all Users. This type of multicasting will be suited for more bandwidth-intensive mobile equipment. Mobile Banking Banks and other financial institutions are exploring the use of Mobile Commerce to allow their customers to not only access account information, but also make transactions, e.g. purchasing stocks, remitting money, via mobile phones. This service is often referred to as Mobile Banking or M-Banking. More negative issues like ID theft, phishing and pharming are lurking when it comes to mobile banking, particularly done on the mobile web. Net security technology free from redundancy and paradigm shifts away from mobile web-based banking will be an optimal solution to mobile banking in the near future. Mobile Brokerage Stock market services offered via mobile devices have also become more popular and are known as Mobile Brokerage. They allow the subscriber to react to market developments in a timely fashion and irrespective of their physical location. Auctions Over the past three years Mobile Reverse Auction solutions have grown in popularity. Unlike traditional auctions, the reverse auction (or low-bid auction) bills the consumer's phone each time they place a bid. Many mobile PSMS commerce solutions rely on a one-time purchase or one-time subscription; however, reverse auctions are high return applications as they allow the consumer to transact over a long period of time. Mobile Purchase Mobile purchase allows customers to shop online at any time in any location. Customers can browse and order products while using a cheap, secure payment method. Instead of using paper catalogues, retailers can send customers a list of products that the customer would be interested in, directly to their mobile device. Additionally, retailers will also be able to track customers at all times and notify them of discounts at local stores that the customer would be interested in. New technology from companies like ShopText allow consumers to purchase products from their cell phones using text messaging. Mobile Marketing Corporations are now using m-commerce to expand everything from services to marketing and advertisement. Although there are currently very few regulations on the use and abuses of mobile commerce, this will change in the next few years. With the increased use of m-commerce comes increased security. Cell phone companies are now spending more money to protect their customers and their information from online intrusions and hackers. PAYMENT METHODS The main payment methods used to enable mobile commerce are:
RELATED TECHNOLOGIES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|