MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile Marketing

Mobile Marketing

Introduction

Mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous. There is an explosion worldwide in the use of handheld electronic communication devices, such as mobile phones, digital music players, and handheld Internet access devices. As the number of such devices is multiplying, subscriptions to services offered through these devices are expanding.' The number of such subscriptions worldwide grew at a compounded annual rate of 24% from 2000 to 2008 with the number of mobile sub scribers reaching four billion in December 2008 (International Telecommunications Union 2008).

The huge number of adopters of these devices and the related services indicates a growing mass audience for mobile electronic communication and promotion, an emerging mobile lifestyle, a popular channel for delivering mobile electronic services, and a mass market for executing mobile transactions. Communication to this audience can be delivered in the form of text, audio, or video. Consumers can not only receive information from firms but also initiate interactions, actively sending requests or information to firms.2 To reflect these characteristics, we adopt Shankar and Balasubramanian' s (2009) definition of mobile marketing as “the two-way or multi-way communication and promotion of an offer between a firm and its customers using a mobile medium, device or technology.”

Mobile marketing is becoming increasingly important in retailing. Due to the time- sensitive and location-sensitive nature of the mobile medium and devices, mobile marketing has the potential to change the paradigm of retailing. The traditional model of retailing is based on consumers entering the retailing environment, making location the primary source of competitive advantage. Mobile marketing is turning this paradigm on its head. Retailers can now enter the consumer's environment through the mobile device, and, because the mobile device stays with the consumer, the retailer can be anywhere, anytime.

The mobility and the personal nature of the mobile device distinguish it from other electronic devices such as the television (TV) and the personal computer (PC) and other channels, with important implications for retailers. Unlike TV and PC, mobile device is a constant companion to the consumer. It is regarded as a personal accessory, is generally not shared, and potentially acts as a gateway to an intimate relationship between the consumer and the retailer. Furthermore, because the device is portable, it is an ideal supplementary channel for virtual e-tailing as well as physical retailing.4 Retailers can push sales promotions or fulfillment updates to consumers through the mobile channel for the consumers to access instantly. In the traditional channel, a bricks-and-mortar retailer can interact with a potential customer only when the customer is in the vicinity of the store. In the mobile channel, the retailer can interact with the customer everywhere, enabling the retailer to constantly enter the customer's environment. We recognize that adoption of mobile devices can also enable consumers and retailers to trade more efficiently, enhance supply efficiency, and reduce price dispersion (Jensen 2007). However, because marketing is the operational theme of the paper, we focus more on the customer side than on the supply ...