According to Morgan Stanley, the growth curve for the mobile Internet is twelve times as steep as that of desktop Internet when it was introduced. Sixty to 70 million mobile phones are shipping with near field communication (NFC) enabled this year. Retailers are getting on board with recent mobile e-commerce technologies, as the conversion rate for brick-and-mortar sales is 20 percent, compared to only three to five percent online: indications we are seeing the beginning of a new environment for offline shopping via mobile-enabled virtual-to-physical commerce.
Increases in smartphone penetration and processing power are launching NFC, geo-location services, and augmented reality into full swing — changing the game for mobile e-commerce environments and bringing more consumers back to live stores.
- How will the increase in business for brick and mortar retailers influence online e-commerce venues like Amazon and or eBay?
- Will the interaction between in-store and mobile commerce experiences drive sales for both online and offline retail commerce?
- How will augmented and virtual realities change the dynamics of offline shopping experiences?
- While NFC market penetration among smartphones is increasing drastically, predicted to hit 300 million phones by 2014, it is said penetration among smartphones is still 2 years out. Will mobile commerce start-ups be held back by the delay in mainstream NFC use?
Please join the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab at Stanford on June 21 to discover how entrepreneurs are leveraging new mobile technologies to create more dynamic and convenient mobile commerce experiences for consumers, while also increasing overall sales and branding for brick and mortar retailers.
