SEATTLE – When businessman Dan Wright visited Japan in 2003, he was surprised to see people buying perfume through a cell phone. So Wright decided to sell physical goods via mobile phones in the U.S. Wright founded mPoria to focus on mobile commerce. The Seattle company now helps retailers sell goods over the cell phone, reports Seattle Times.
Today, a number of features on mobile phones in the U.S. could make selling goods the next big step in the evolution of phones turning into computerlike devices. Subscribers already spend billions of dollars on ringtones, graphics, mobile games and other digital content. Some also buy bus tickets or pay for parking or other low-cost items, writes the newspaper.
Alan Goode, a senior analyst at Juniper Research in the United Kingdom, estimates that in North America, mobile purchasers will spend $505 million in 2008, and jump to $1.9 billion by 2010. Worldwide, there’s a more lucrative market. He forecasted revenues of $7 billion in 2008, and $20 billion by 2010.
One logical area ripe for innovation could be in more traditional retail, Steve Shivers, general manager of Seattle-based OpenMarket, which helps companies sell mobile content and services to subscribers, told the newspaper. “Mobile is definitely going to be one of the most prevalent devices in people’s lives even as a way to buy physical goods...The only question is where do all the players fit in the value chain and which players will be in the value chain. It might not be done with the technology and the players in there today.”
Todd Strickler, a manager of strategic development at Verizon Wireless, told the Seattle Times he’s seen mobile shopping come full circle. “The interest has started peaking again,” he said. “You have users and you have technology that works. The promise is coming back again.”
Big e-retailers like Amazon.com, eBay and Overstock have started to dabble in the business. Wright’s company, MPoria, recently launched a platform called GoMobile, which lets small retailers provide some information to automatically create a mobile site.