eBay demonstrates importance of mobile ecommerce with UK auction site

By: Jonathan Briggs

January 12, 2006

As eMarketbytes reports today eBay UK Launches Standalone Mobile Site. This is a major news event for those of us who keep an eye on the mobile market.

The mobile web has had a chequered history ever since WAP was oversold by the telecoms operators in the late 90's. It was slow, unusably slow and the content was poor and uninteresting.

Today, as eBay's move demonstrates, mobile access to the web is becoming a realistic proposition and all retailers and information publishers should be considering how it fits into their overall online strategy.

Here are a few ideas that may be useful to help you decide whether you should be doing something mobile:

Does your content or service depend on an immediate or instant response? Auction bids are clearly a good example of timely content where customers want to know now.
Does your content go out of date very quickly? Some special offers such as flights and tickets may only last a few hours and would suit a mobile alert.
Is your content or service tailorable to a specific geographical location? Orange and most of the other operators offer a find my nearest service for banks, cinemas, shops and restaurants.
Is your content or service specifically suited to the younger mobile demographic?
Is your content or service addictive or compulsive? Games and betting can be highly successful?
Can you extend an existing relationship onto the mobile platform? Many activities such as filling in forms make no sense over the mobile's small screen but if you already have a relationship with your customer you can use the handset as an additional channel. Consider the success of SMS alerts for bank balances or delivery information.
Keep an eye on future mobile development. In Japan all sorts of innovative applications mix the unique functions of the phone including location, availability and communications.

Come and talk to us if you are exploring mobile ideas for your business.