Ordering via SMS

When mobile phone was invented, little did we imagine that it will one day become our best business buddy? First, it gave us the convenience of mobility and then there was no stopping to various apps. M-commerce and smart phones have revolutionised the way business worked earlier. But before we get lost in the big picture, let’s not forget the poor sms which is still doing a pretty good job as our advertisement vehicle. London has suddenly found another application for the old sms- that of placing orders through text messages.  This has given another reason of celebration to the retail and the consumer communities in UK even as Indians wait for it to come home.

In London, it is the txt2buy service that allows a consumer to place his order via a simple text message. All that a consumer needs to do is follow a simple one time procedure of registration like setting up an account in Paypal. An order can be closed in less than 45 seconds. It is still in a nascent stage; its application will augment.

Retailers have to simply add txt2 buy call-to-action to their advertising and consumers can order simply by sending the required keyword against the item displayed in the advert. This service is giving opportunity for up selling and cross selling. Retailers can engage with a large data base and also consumers don’t need internet access; they can simply order on the click of a button.

Benefits                                                                                                                                          

This will help the consumers to not just order goods conveniently but also help retailers generate more sales through impulse purchases. Also, the advertising industry will have their hands full with new line of work.

Investment

Since it works with current technology, there is no investment in software or training so it will be easy to adopt.

Conclusion: Retailers are always in look out of new channels to measure return on advertising expenses and strategies to successfully augment the customer base and drive more sales without investing large sums of money. With txt2buy making all offline marketing instantly measurable, it seems it will take retail to a new trajectory.

Siddharth Agarwal, CEO, Mobicule Technologies Pvt Ltd shares, "There is great scope for a solution like this in retail. SMS is the best way to attain volumes as the rural population can also use the solution via SMS.We already have the same to buy value added services from the operator. Integrating the payment and supply chain will be the biggest challenge for making this a reality. Mobicule is currently focused on the B2B".

As Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice President, Canon India, puts it, “Technology is bringing both convenience and excitement to the consumers of future. Instant impulse gratification is a big driver for consumption. This new technique leverages both technology as well as impulse behaviours. Quite on the ball"