The idea of using cell phones for shopping is starting to catch on with American consumers.
According to research by Harris Interactive, 45 percent of those polled would be willing to use their cell phone to shop if they believed transactions could be completed safely.
Younger adults, as might be expected, were more likely to find the notion of shopping with a mobile device appealing. Nearly 60 percent of those between 18 and 34 were comfortable that they could shop securely using their cell phones.
"There's clearly a large U.S. population of consumers open to the idea of making purchases via their cell phones," Andy Kleitsch, CEO of Billing Revolution, the firm that commissioned the research, told Mediaweek. "With consumers getting more comfortable navigating the web from mobile phones, mobile commerce is poised for explosive growth, and consumers are very much leading the charge in this direction."
"It's just a few years before we're all buying products on the phone we typically buy on the web," Michael Dulong, co-founder and senior vice president of business development at Billing Revolution, told The New York Times.
"If anything, the economy is heating up demand for mobile check-out mechanisms as companies are leveraging mobile to supplement e-commerce," Mr. Dulong added.
Discussion Questions: Will we see an acceleration in the use of cell phones for retail transactions in the near future? How do you see smart phone apps influencing demand? How big an issue will security concerns be in terms of consumer adoption of the technology for shopping purposes?