SmartWatches, Bad Retail Email & More
I was hoping for a little pause in July to get some rays, reconnect with loved ones and lollygag a little.
No such luck. Mobile pauses for no one. The big players released new tech like Google’s Moto X smartphone and Chromecast HDMI TV connector. The carriers battled each other on early equipment upgrades. And smart brands continue to push the boundaries of mobile marketing.
Most of it is fluff, but here are five mobile stories from last month that aren’t:
#1: Retailers also suck at mobile email
#2: The future of mCommerce is SmartWatches?
#3: Users ain’t too happy with retail apps
#4: Why Peter Piper picked a peck of SMS
#5: Screw responsive, you need to be adaptive
#1: Retailers also suck at mobile email
While more than 43% of all email is opened on a mobile device, it seems that major retailers, like most companies, are lagging in adoption. If powerhouses like Sephora and Target choke on mobile email implementations, there’s hope for more savvy marketers. (Less than 15% of SMBs mobile-optimize their email.) Check out this great post in Mobile Commerce Daily: http://bit.ly/15B0VvT
#2: The future of mCommerce is SmartWatches?
Unlike the rest of the world, the US has been slacking in the mCommerce space. You can by a Coke via SMS in Brazil or pay for a bus fare with your smartphone in Finland, but you can’t buy much in America with a mobile phone. SmartWatches such as Pebble or the future Apple iWatch might have mCommerce luck. VentureBeat offers a compelling argument for SmartWatch-based commerce: http://bit.ly/1c4OSu6
#3: Users ain’t too happy with retail apps
Despite millions sunk into app development, retailers continue to fail to keep mobile users happy. While a slim majority (52%) are very happy with Amazon’s apps, less than a third feel the same across all retail channels. Read more about this in MediaPost: http://bit.ly/15B8PFt
#4: Why Peter Piper picked a peck of SMS
The Texas pizza chain, Peter Piper, is geofencing its mobile ad efforts to drive SMS subscriptions. Money quote: “Our primary target is millennial moms, they’re heavy users of their mobile,” said Dan Santy, president/CEO of Santy Integrated. He failed to mention that SMS will have a higher ROI than apps. More in Mobile Commerce Daily: http://bit.ly/11ATPB8
#5: Screw responsive, you need to be adaptive
Just as we started to learn the magic of responsive web design, techies throw us for another loop with the adaptive design. Here’s the gist: responsive designs merely adjust the format to fit the screen; adaptive offers specific designs based on the viewing device. Your web site has separate designs for BlackBerries and iPhones, and Nexus 7 tablets and iPads. Confused? Review what the Harvard Business Review has on this issue here: http://bit.ly/1c4T4tQ