Your cell phone as a personal shopper

Several companies are experimenting with better ways to send merchandise information to mobile phones, and they aim to transform the devices into personal shopping assistants, reports the Mercury News.

BlueRay
"San Francisco's WideRay has placed kiosks in selected music stores, video game stores and theaters across the country and in Europe. When customers come within 25 feet of the kiosks, they receive an SMS asking if they're interested in getting more information about various items the store is selling, perhaps music, ring tones, videos or games. If customers are interested, they can go to the kiosk and choose what to download.

The messages and downloads reach customers' cell phones over radio waves using Bluetooth. ... Customers can choose between free downloads and those that come with a fee. But no additional charges appear on customers' cell phone bills because the transaction doesn't involve the wireless carrier.

Cellfire
Last week, Santa Clara-based Moonstorm released software called Cellfire that would automatically download coupons for stores in the customer's area to Cingular cell phones. Customers don't receive any intrusive text messages but must click on the Cellfire icon on their phones to check out and use the coupons.

... Industry experts say it's a bit too early to tell how well these new mobile advertising methods will go over with consumers."

emily | 1:43 PM | SMS Marketing & Advertising |
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