The general m-commerce applications are:
1. Mobile ticketing
Tickets can be sent to mobile phones using a variety
of technologies. Users are then able to use their tickets immediately by
presenting their phones at the venue.
Tickets can be booked and cancelled on the mobile with the help of simple
application downloads or by accessing WAP portals of
various Travel agents or direct service providers. Mobile
ticketing for airports, ballparks, and train stations, for example, will not only
streamline unexpected metropolitan traffic surges, but also help users remotely
secure parking spots (even while in their vehicles) and greatly facilitate mass
surveillance at transport hubs.
2. Mobile vouchers, coupons and loyalty
cards
Mobile ticketing technology can also be used for the distribution of
vouchers, coupons and loyalty cards. The voucher, coupon, or loyalty card is
represented by a virtual token that is sent to the mobile phone. Presenting a
mobile phone with one of these tokens at the point of sale allows the
customer to receive the same benefits as another customer who has a loyalty
card or other paper coupon/voucher. Mobile delivery enables:
- economy of scale
- quicker and easier delivery
- effective target marketing
- privacy-friendly data mining on consumer behavior
- environment-friendly and resources-saving efficacy
3. Content purchase and delivery
Currently, mobile content purchase and delivery mainly consists of the sale
of ring-tones, wallpapers, and games for mobile phones. The convergence of
mobile phones, mp3 players and video players into a single device will result
in an increase in the purchase and delivery of full-length music tracks and
video. Download speeds, if increased to 4G levels, will make it possible
to buy a movie on a mobile device in a couple of seconds, while on the go.
4. Location-based services
Unlike a home PC, the location of the mobile phone user is an important
piece of information used during mobile commerce transactions. Knowing the
location of the user allows for location based services such as:
- local maps
- local offers
- local weather
- people tracking and monitoring
5. Information services
A wide variety of information services can be delivered to mobile phone
users in much the same way as it is delivered to PCs. These services include:
- news services
- stock data
- sports results
- financial records
- traffic data and information
Particularly, more customized traffic information, based on users' travel
patterns, will be multicast on a differentiated basis, instead of broadcasting
the same news and data to all Users. This type of multicasting will be suited
for more bandwidth-intensive mobile equipment.
6. Mobile Banking
Banks and other financial institutions are exploring the use of mobile
commerce to allow their customers to not only access account information, but
also make transactions, e.g. purchasing stocks, remitting money, via mobile
phones and other mobile equipment. This service is often referred to
as Mobile Banking or M-Banking. +Net security technology free from
redundancy and paradigm shifts away from mobile web-based banking will be an
optimal solution to mobile banking in the near future.
7. Mobile brokerage
Stock market services offered via mobile devices have also become more
popular and are known as Mobile Brokerage. They allow the subscriber to react
to market developments in a timely fashion and irrespective of their physical
location.
8. Auctions
Over the past three years Mobile
reverse action solutions have grown in popularity. Unlike traditional
auctions, the reverse auction (or low-bid auction) bills the consumer's phone
each time they place a bid. Many mobile PSMS commerce solutions rely on a
one-time purchase or one-time subscription; however, reverse auctions are high
return applications as they allow the consumer to transact over a long period
of time.
9. Mobile purchase
Mobile purchase allows customers to shop online at any time in any location.
Customers can browse and order products while using a cheap, secure payment
method. Instead of using paper catalogues, retailers can send customers a list
of products that the customer would be interested in, directly to their mobile
device or consumers can visit a mobile version of a retailer’s ecommerce site.
Additionally, retailers will also be able to track customers at all times and
notify them of discounts at local stores that the customer would be interested
in.
10. Mobile marketing and advertising
Mobile marketing is an emerging concept, but the speed with which it's
growing its roots is remarkable. Mobile marketing is highly responsive sort of
marketing campaign, especially from brands’ experience point of view. And
almost all brands are getting higher campaign response rates.
Corporations are now using m-commerce to expand everything from services to
marketing and advertisement. Although there are currently very few regulations
on the use and abuses of mobile commerce, this will change in the next few
years. With the increased use of m-commerce comes increased security. Cell
phone companies are now spending more money to protect their customers and
their information from online intrusions and hackers.
