Retailers finding ways to put buying power in shoppers’ hands
In the brave new world of retailing, stores are going to be less concerned about what’s in shoppers’ wallets and more interested in what’s on their mobile phones.
Retailers and a wave of start-up companies are rushing to create smart-phone and iPhone applications that let shoppers compare prices, redeem coupons, lend a friend $25, buy movie tickets and make dinner reservations, and even find the nearest bathroom in the mall.
Right now, most of what’s happening in mobile retail is marketing and promotion, rather than sales and revenue-producing activities. But Web developers and retailers say the day is coming when consumers will be able to wave their cellphones to pay at the grocery checkout line, department stores, and restaurants and movie theaters.
“Consumers love their cellphone,” said Conrad Sheehan, founder and chief executive officer of Chicago-based mPayy, which is developing a mobile payment system that shoppers can use instead of credit and debit cards.
“They’ll walk out naked, but they’ll have their cellphones.”
This past Christmas, Wayne-based Toys “R” Us Inc. let shoppers shrink the company’s 80-page holiday toy “wish book” down to cellphone size, through an iPhone app. Toys “R” Us also introduced mobile shopping in November, allowing customers to make purchases from their phones, as well as read customer product ratings and check if items sold out at one store were available elsewhere.
