Mobile phone technology has certainly come a long way. Once just a handy means of communication, now it has transformed into a new platform for e-commerce. Mobile web is not just a fad. It is a reality that is rapidly changing the playing field for many e-commerce merchants. However, the transition from traditional e-commerce to mobile e-commerce can be a tricky course to navigate.
PracticalEcommerce.com interviewed a developer from MobilizeToday.com, a company that specializes in making sites “mobile friendly.” Taihei Nagamine answered some frequently asked questions that interested e-commerce merchants had, and here are some of the key points he made:
1. Choose standards-oriented solutions over platform-oriented applications. According to Nagamine, it is more cost efficient to optimize a website for mobile standards than to create an application which is oftentimes restricting because it is made only for a specific device or a specific version.
2. Assess your business before jumping on the mobile e-commerce bandwagon. Nagamine advises business owners to evaluate the kind of clientele that they have. Are they most likely to use their mobile phones to make a purchase? For businesses that sell large and expensive items, a mobile optimized website can be a good place where potential customers might develop an interest in the product and eventually make an actual purchase.
3. Mobile web does have its limitations. Doing e-commerce is still not nearly as effective as doing business face to face. Mobile e-commerce pushes the limits of modern technology, but there are still some drawbacks. Entrepreneurs and customers alike have to deal with issues such as smaller screen sizes, greater difficulty in entering text, and low bandwidth Internet connections. This is what mobile e-commerce companies are for. Companies like MobilizeToday.com can help e-commerce merchants make that transition to mobile web with all the right tools and information. As Nagamine puts it, “If it works on a desktop, we can make it work on mobile phones.”
