What is M-commerce?
It is basically the extension of e-commerce into wireless mobile devices. It can be simply defined as the buying and selling of goods and services through handheld devices such as a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). The m-commerce phenomenon is driven by wireless internet access. Wi-Fi has enabled people to access the internet on the go. This has allowed smart phones to offer almost all of the same services and applications as a PC. The graph below illustrates the services offered by m-commerce.
The consumer: from phone to handset?
Today’s typical consumer in the hospitality and tourism industry usually carries a smart phone. The phone/smart device (whichever one of the many names you choose) is the most important influence in the emergence of m-commerce. Today’s Swiss Army Phone encompasses so many applications and services into one device that it seems reasonable to believe all a person will carry in the future is a smart device. In our industry people can use the internet to purchase flights, book a meal, source information, write an online review, recommend to a friend etc. Therefore the importance of m-commerce to our industry is undeniable. M-commerce can be divided into three categories:
1. Information based: Customers searching for information on a destination, restaurant etc. This could encompass reviews, pictures, direction etc.
2. Transaction based: The customer can purchase flights, hotel rooms, day trips and a whole multitude of hospitality and tourism products direct from their phone.
3. Personalised services: This is particularly useful to the actually business e.g. if a potential customer passes through the Wi-Fi of a Cafe it is possible to send an advert or alert direct to their phone and invite them in for a coffee. Similarly the customers data profile and/or location allows the hospitality and tourism industry to target consumers with more personalised adverts.
My–Commerce and Phoneliness
I understand and agree that the emergence of m-commerce is potentially the biggest breakthrough in the business world in the last decade. Despite this however, I remain reluctant to take the leap and purchase a smart phone. Don’t get me wrong I love the convenience of mobile wireless technology. I use my laptop on the go to check e-mails and banking. For me though the smart phone has impacted a person's ability socially, and that’s not good in a business where face time with the client is the moment of truth. I’ve noted my smart phone friend’s tendency to turn to the smart device at lulls in conversions. Is it a crutch, a go to or are we simply happier interacting with a screen than in person. Check out the video, it explains it all. I wonder if for all the benefits of m-commerce if the basic social cost is worth it. For now though I’ve enjoyed m-commerce in small doses from behind my laptop but I wonder what will happen to me when I finally cave in and buy that Swiss Army Phone.
Check out this interesting video on phoneliness!!!
Useful link here that sums up m-commerce quite concisely:
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