Internet Retailing - M&S Response
M&S becomes first major high street retailer to offer true mobile shopping - and not an app in sight
May 20, 2010 - 9:13am
Submitted by paul Skeldon
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has become the first major UK high street retailer to go properly mobile, with the launch of a mobile-optimised version of its main eCommerce site. Customers on the move can now shop on a site that has been developed specifically to enable them to search, browse and buy easily from any web-enabled mobile phone or device.
Terry Hunter, Managing Director, 20:20 Technology
May 21, 2010 at 12:22pm
It's refreshing to see M&S developing a considered m-commerce strategy which will operate across all web-enabled mobiles, rather than simply creating an iPhone app or similar one-off initiatives.
According to the most recent Gartner report in 2009, iPhone devices make up about 10% of the market, so releasing an iPhone app is a great way to test the water, but could risk bypassing the other 90% of consumers.
In fact, in a recent study, the android platform which is embedded into Nokia and Samsung devices is currently outselling the iPhone. So brands developing mobile apps should look to deliver a product for all models if they want to achieve a good level of pick up.
Mobile apps are just one way of engaging consumers with a brand using mobile technology, but retailers need a more comprehensive m-commerce strategy that accommodates the wider web-enabled mobile technology landscape, enabling them to reach a larger audience with more targeted activity. So it will be interesting to see how M&S develops its mobile platform.