Category Archives: Mobile
Will mobile commerce steal Black Friday?
Online retailers like Amazon and Gilt Groupe are set to sneak behind enemy lines en masse on Black Friday this year, and there is little brick & mortar retailers can do to defend themselves. Bored shoppers waiting in long lines for a chance to pay will naturally pass the time by playing with their smartphones. Online only retailers are looking to exploit that opportunity, offering the same products for less in mobile-only deals targeted to the times people are expected to be in those long lines. Result? Frustrated shoppers put their purchases back on the shelf, having ordered the same thing for less on their smartphones.
While this may not have a huge impact on share this shopping season, it does begin training consumers that maybe camping out for 2 nights in the Best Buy parking lot is a stupid idea. That will not be good for traditional retailers who count on the amped-up bargain hunting frenzy they’ve managed to create over the years.
If traditional retailers want to survive long-term against companies like Amazon, they’d better crack the code on an in-person shopping experience that trumps the convenience and low prices of online retailers. If Nordstrom can’t do it, I don’t hold out a lot of hope for Best Buy. As for me, I think I’ll bargain hunt from bed next Friday morning. My iPhone is always close by.
Apple ends the UDID free ride
Apple has caused mobile ad and game networks some heartburn with the phasing out of something called “Universal Device Identifier” (UDID) in iOS5.
The public reason for Apple’s planned shift is privacy. UDID allows tracking of an individual iOS user across several applications, This allows anyone who plugs into UDID to quickly assemble a detailed behavioral profile for each user. Applications for the web that offer similar levels of consumer profiling are generally called spyware. Read the rest of this entry
iPad nirvana for B2B media: Get serious
Last year I read an assertion by a well-regarded digital media thinker that the iPad and its eventual competitors represent a “huge opportunity for B2B media“. The article then goes on to give a series of unremarkable examples of how B2B media is leveraging the iPad, which pretty much prove my contention: A successful B2B iPad app solves a significant reader need, period.
Which mobile platform should you focus on?
With five major mobile platforms in the US market, where should publishers place their bets? Here is some data to help you make the right decision. Of course, before you invest in building mobile apps, you should ensure your website is optimized for mobile browsers. If users have a good experience using your site from their phone, they are more likely to consider downloading your smartphone app.
