mCommerce: KISS Principle & the Endless Aisle

In Mobile Commerce, simplicity is a virtue, says Julie A. Ask, vice president and principal analyst who specializes in m-commerce at Forrester Research Inc.

Quoted in an article in Internet Retailer (also available on Mobile Commerce Trends), Ask notes: “You have to keep the end goal of the shopper in mind," adding that "Target’s ‘endless aisle’ is a perfect example [see illustratoin below]. It features signs directing shoppers to send a text to a short code and the reply text sends them directly to a [mobile-optimzed] Web page [on their Smartphone] connecting them with more products from that style or brand, locations where those products are in stock, and more. And it allows people to scan bar codes, which is far more simple than typing.”

Note that the "endless aisle" concept has been used (under that name) by a number of merchants (Sears, for one) and systems vendors (like iCongo) to refer to the use of mCommerce to offer merchandise to customers in a store that is available either from other locations or for shipping from the merchant's direct commerce warehouse.

Target is on the ball in a lot of other ways, as well. Vertical Marketing Network summarizes these in its Blogging Out Loud: Right on Target.