The market & what to sell
Flying in the face of many recent dot-com's plans, we suggest that a good business model is necessary for a successful m-commerce offering. There is no point in trying to sell fridges via mobile, as people are likely to want to see them and measure them. Also, you need to take into account why the customer would need to do it on the way to work. They'd probably spend a significant time contemplating such a purchase and they wouldn't make such a decision on the run.
It also comes back to the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of your customers are likely to only buy 20 percent of your products, or at least want to buy them online via mobile. Remember--the mobile can't be a supermarket, and you have to target very specific audiences to make the process as simple as possible. People won't (or shouldn't) expect to be able to buy your whole range of products. Mobile commerce is about buying products or conducting transactions that are regular, simple and relevant.
However, m-commerce isn't all about buying CDs online, it can also act as a flexible payment system that allows customers to buy products using their phone as an account. For example, I might want to buy a product in a store, and could have it charged to my phone account rather than my credit card. However, think about the consequences. Only those with a credit history would be able to gain access.
Those ineligible would include a large portion of the market who are more likely than most to use the technology--kids. A limited debit card-like service could solve the issue and operate for those not eligible, allowing them to make online purchases. If they lose the phone, payments can't be made without the PIN so it's much less likely that they'll lose the money compared to losing their wallet. Merchant acceptance of such payment methods will also be key in the actual take up of such technologies.
As well as making every transaction digital, with full records to rely on and much easier processing sales and inventory, there is also the opportunity to improve the customer's end of the transaction. For example, you might be able to eliminate most queues by making the train turnstiles accept payment from a mobile device without the customer even needing to take it out of their pocket.
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