With consumers relying on handheld devices for everything from phone calls to Web surfing, retailers are looking to mobile as the next frontier of the shopping experience. In order to help retailers adapt to the new technology, the National Retail Federation has launched its Mobile Retail Initiative to offer best practices and learning opportunities for retailers diving into m-commerce.
This retailer-led initiative will help the industry leverage existing and emerging mobile technologies to enhance the shopping experience and improve internal business processes.
NRF brings the collaborative strengths of three of its divisions to the forefront for this effort. Representatives from NRF's IT standards division, ARTS; digital division, Shop.org; and marketing division, RAMA, are teaming up to develop standards and best practices as well as create original research, educational events and networking opportunities.
“Mobile has great promise for bringing major, positive changes to the shopping experience, payments, marketing and other aspects of retail,” said NRF president Tracy Mullin. “In addition to developing the standards and best practices necessary for the industry to move forward, NRF’s Mobile Retail Initiative will inspire retailers to realize the full potential of mobile today and in the future.”
One of the first deliverables from the Initiative will be the Mobile Blueprint. This document is designed to provide retailers with a road map for executing best practices as a part of their mobile retail strategies.
The mobile blueprint is being developed by NRF's Mobile Blueprint Committee which includes representatives from a diverse group of retailers, restaurants and service providers. These are some of the nation's leading companies that are on the cutting edge of mobile implementation. The committee will be responsible for:
- Identifying processes that can be enhanced by mobile technology including marketing and customer loyalty, payments, store operations and digital.
- Organizing meetings and events to bring professionals from the mobile and retail communities together to maximize adoption of standards and encourage implementation.
- Working with banks and other financial institutions to provide multiple alternatives for mobile payments.
- Encouraging adoption of global standards surrounding mobile technology and use of ARTS standard data names.
- Publishing white papers covering different aspects of mobile technology processing in retail.
For more information about the Mobile Retail Initiative, please visit www.nrf.com/mobile.
