Marketers are slowly taking advantage of one particular facet of the mobile phone: It goes just about anywhere.
The latest to see the virtue of ubiquity is Kraft Foods, which has launched a “Recipes on the Go” mobile Web site at http://m.kraftfoods.com where in-store users can access Kraft's online database of recipes. They can examine ingredients, find out details about prep and cooking times, and even create shopping lists.
The site is basically a free version of a paid iPhone app, iFood Assistant, that Kraft rolled out last year. A recent report from Forrester Research singled out the iFood Assistant as an iTunes app success story, noting that it's been a strong seller at 99 cents — though iTouch users have been complaining that there aren't enough Wi Fi-enabled supermarkets.
Retailers should remember that shoppers in their aisles are basically now carrying small computers in their pockets, with access to competitors' pricing. In April Google rolled out a mobile version of its Product Search app optimized both for iPhones and for the Google smartphone platform Android. Users can type a product name into the Google.com query box, tap “Shopping” results and get back a page full of online ratings, reviews and prices.
DID YOU KNOW
The Short, Happy Life of Mobile Apps
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The average iPhone app is used 19.9 times before being dropped
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Consumers engage with an app for 9.6 minutes per session
Source: Greystripe Consumer Insights Report, April 2009
