The Start of a Quiet Revolution in Mobile Commerce

It has been over a decade since the 2002 film Minority Report hit theaters and many of us in the technology industry remember it for one scene – Tom Cruise’s character is unable to make it through a shopping mall undetected because he is recognized by targeted ads. At the time, the concept seemed farfetched. Well the retina scans still are, but the advent of smartphones has actually gotten us very close.

For years, online commerce has been able to track our patterns. You abandon a shopping cart with a few items in it, and suddenly online ads feature the same products as you surf the web. Pages you’ve recently visited become prominently displayed in search results. When you log in to sites like Amazon, they have products to recommend to you based on their predictive models of what you need next. Online behavioral targeting is improving in leaps and bounds based on both self-declared and observational data that sites collect about their consumers. During this period, brick and mortar stores have essentially been trying to play catch-up or do their best to integrate the two experiences without much success. But now with new mobile technology starting to become mainstream, that’s about to change.

I think about the extraordinary growth in mobile usage in three phases. The first was driven by the introduction of data transmission to mobile devices. When mobile phones could transmit data to allow users to send text messages and access information on the go, the mobile device truly started to permeate our lives.

The second phase began with the introduction of the smartphone and with it the application ecosystems. Apps propelled the industry forward. I don’t have to look far to see the impact of mobile apps on consumer behavior. The gaming market grew exponentially as mobile games became a killer app on every smartphone platform. At EA, we enable more than 2.5 billion unique game sessions a month across all the platforms we support, with a significant portion being mobile games.

Now I think we’re entering a third phase of innovation, this one ushering in a new world of commerce and making that Minority Report scene a reality. The mobile industry’s embrace of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Beaconing technology will allow for a micro location contextual relationship between consumers and retailers. BLE essentially couples the coverage footprint of Bluetooth (range of 50 meters) with a low energy model enabling transmission of small packet sizes of data. As retailers adopt and install the transmitting beacons and backend systems to take advantage of this new capability, they will be able to recognize their consumers and communicate relevant personal offers on products and services the moment a consumer is within range. The notifications can be context sensitive to time, day, location, interests and past history of interaction. The potential is limitless. Imagine going to a stadium or a theater and immediately getting a seat map, ability to upgrade seats, menu from the local concessions, personal offers, update on loyalty points and find out the proximity of your friends. Those are just a few capabilities this technology can enable. The underlying capabilities of the new generation of mobile phones are about to change the status quo on consumer experience.

Perhaps even more importantly, the emerging technologies in mobile hardware and software can finally make digital mobile wallets a reality both in ease of use and higher security. The inherent friction in the retail experience that centers around ordering and checkout can finally be alleviated. We are not far from the day when we will be able to transact without the need to reach for our wallets to tap or swipe our credit cards. In addition, biometric authentication (fingerprint scanning) sitting on top of digital wallets can even enable a higher level of transaction security over traditional methods used currently. This could go a long way in reducing write-offs and chargebacks from fraud creating a positive ripple effect on pricing for consumers. There are several companies starting to innovate around these areas and as the new wave of mobile phones gain critical mass, the pace is bound to accelerate even more.

These innovations open up big opportunities for everyone. Consumers can get information that we want only when it’s actually relevant. Interactions with brands can be timely, personal and in the context of our activities saving time and money and improving the overall experience. The key to both a positive online and offline experience is the transparency and privacy of our information. As long as we have full knowledge and control of what we share and what is shared back with us, this is a long term win for commerce.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts – will these devices change how you shop? How you interact with brands? Have you seen any particularly interesting use cases of the technology yet?