Mobile Phones and the Internet Change Retail

In South Korea, customers order by mobile phone and receive a call when it's ready. In Japan, consumers can check the quality of their food with a barcode on their phone. China is expected to reach $1 trillion in mobile commerce by 2010. American retailers look to Asia in developing technological shopping trends.

Cell phones and virtual worlds morphing shopper ways
By Nicole Maestri and Martinne Geller
Reuters
Jan. 17, 2008

Virtual worlds, mobile coupons and bar-code readers on cell phones are the next technology wave that U.S. chain stores must ride if they hope to stay competitive in the fast-changing world of global retail.Retailers, gathered in New York this week for the National Retail Federation's (NRF) annual convention, were urged to go high-tech to stand out in the crowd and improve sales, especially amid a flagging U.S. economy....The Internet has also become more interactive, with consumers spending more time -- and money -- in virtual worlds like Second Life and Webkinz. "These technologies are going to change the way you interact with your customer, they're going to change the way people shop, they're going to change the way you manage your brands," said Giff Constable, general manager at Electric Sheep Co, which designs content for virtual worlds, like Second Life....
But a pervasive undercurrent at the convention was worry over the state of the U.S. economy, and what that will mean for profits. The NRF forecasts U.S. retail sales will rise 3.5 percent this year, the lowest rate of growth since 2002. So while new technologies are appealing, there is little room in the budget for them.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080117/tc_nm/retail_nrf_technology_dc;_ylt=Al0liORO7KGgoFhk5fv7RuIRSLMF

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