Mobile retailers

SAN FRANCISCO - Executives from Wet Seal, Netbiscuits, Zumobi and Digby detailed the steps to create user-friendly sites and apps that enable viewing of ads, searching, shopping and transacting.

Dave Sikora, CEO of Digby, Austin, TX, kicked off Mobile Boot Camp, cohosted by the NRF’s Shop.org, Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, with an introductory speech.

Only about 10 percent of retailers are full mobile players, with services such as a mobile-optimized app and a mobile Web site with commerce capabilities, according to Rosetta research.

In the United States, mobile shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009, and ABI Research projects 100 percent growth this year to reach $2.4 billion in 2010.

With the intense coverage that mobile applications continue to attract, the content developers are already starting to investigate alternative distribution channels to the application stores.

Social networking service Flirtomatic has launched an iPhone application to extend its platform and services – including the selling of virtual goods to consumers and advertising space to brands.

Entertainment and media company PT Solegra Nusa Perdana has partnered with Alcatel-Lucent to launch a mobile gaming and music download service.

Retailers and merchants of all kinds must focus on delivering a mobile commerce experience in 2010 that is truly optimized for the mobile phone, according to a Billing Revolution executive.

Many retailers will find themselves wondering how to best translate Web 2.0 activities onto a mobile platform. All they have to do is borrow from ecommerce.

During its earnings conference call Oct. 21, eBay’s CEO John J. Donahoe said that mobile commerce is one of the key areas the company is focusing on in terms of driving innovation.