Anywhere, Anytime Applications of Mobile Commerce

7) Because m-commerce devices usually have a single user, they are ideal for accessing personal information and receiving targeted messages for a particular consumer. Through m-commerce, companies can reach individual consumers to establish one-to-one marketing relationships and permit communication to occur whenever it is convenient — in short, anytime and anywhere. Here are just a few examples of potential m-commerce applications:

· Banking customers can use their wireless, handheld devices to access their accounts and pay their bills.

· Clients of brokerage firms can view stock prices and company research as well as conduct trades to fit their schedules.

· Information services such as financial news, sports information, and traffic updates can be delivered to individuals whenever they want.

· On-the-move retail consumers can place and pay for orders instantaneously.

· Telecommunications service users can view service changes, pay bills, and customize their services.

· Retailers and service providers can send potential customers advertising, promotions, or coupons to entice them to try their services as they move past their place of business.

8) The most successful m-commerce applications suit local conditions and people’s habits and preferences. For example, gamblers in Hong Kong now place bets with their mobile phones, and drivers in London can pay tolls. Albertson’s, the $36 billion food and drug wailer, is using m-commerce technology to improve customer service. Shoppers at some of the retailer’s stores can scan the bar codes of their items with handheld devices to record purchases, tally costs, receive special offers, and check out and pay. The handheld devices run off in-store wireless networks. At checkout time, customers can elect to use an “Express Pay Station”, where they scan an “end-of-trip” bar code at the station and then automatically download the contents on the scanner into the register.

9) As with any new technology, m-commerce will only succeed if it provides users with real benefits. Companies involved in m-commerce must think through their strategies carefully and ensure that they provide services that truly meet customers needs.

1. Answer the questions:

· What is mobile commerce? How does it work?

· How can security of m-commerce be provided?

· What technology is needed for mobile commerce?

· What is a WAP?

· Can you name any potential m-commerce applications?

2. Decide whether the following sentences are true or false. Correct the wrong ones:

· M-commerce purchases have not yet taken off.

· The acceptance of m-commerce is currently geographically dependent.

· In most Western European countries, communicating via wireless devices is rare, and consumers are not willing to use m-commerce.

· Shoppers at some of the retailer’s stores can steal the bar codes of their items with handheld devices to record purchases, tally costs, receive special offers, and check out and pay.

· M-commerce will only be popular if it provides users with real benefits.

3. Fill the gaps with an appropriate word: