Neal's Notes

The Who’s seminal 1971 song, ‘Going Mobile,’ was really more a celebration of wheels and the joy of cruising down highways and byways. But two lines of the song, “Going mobile; keep me movin,” is – more than a generation later, a spot on description of how billions of folks around the globe will be using the mobile web in 2012.

So with only 36 days left until 2012, what’s gonna be hot? What are some key trends to look for?

A few bullet points to further elucidate:

• The CTIA Wireless Association recently said more than 250 million Americans now have mobile phones. Four out of five teenagers carry a mobile phone, with 57% of them believing their device is the center of their social universe. More than 10 trillion (yes, that’s a ‘t’) text messages will also be sent/received next year. Your 14-year-old daughter will generate half of these.

• Biz Report predicts text messaging programs will account for about $14 billion of the more than $19 billion they say will be spent on mobile campaigns in 2012.

• Market research firm Gartner predicts mobile e-mail users worldwide will increase from 354 million in 2009 to 713 million in 2014. Gartner also expects mobile instant messaging (MIM) to attract consumers to new types of unified communications (UC) clients provided by over the top (OTT) service providers – Skype’s one example.

• More than five billion people worldwide have mobile phones, and mobile data traffic is trebling every year.

• More consumers are planning to use their mobile device to make a purchase this holiday season, according to a joint national survey conducted by Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase Inc., which provides mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), a global trade association for the mobile industry. The survey of 1,000 consumers found that 62% would be willing to make a purchase on their mobile device this holiday season if prompted by coupons, discount offers, text alerts, gift cards or loyalty points. A year ago, Sybase 365 reported that only 32% of respondents would purchase anything on their mobile device, even when laden with incentives.

• Mobile barcodes will continue to evolve rapidly worldwide. “Mobile barcodes offer unmatched opportunity to increase brand value by adding measurable interactive functionality and richer consumer engagement,” said Nicole Skogg, CEO of SpyderLynk and co-chair of the MMA’s Mobile Barcode Task Force. “Mobile barcodes make static media – like packaging, print ads, broadcast TV and billboards – interactive.”

In a report from market research firm Juniper Research, “Mobile Retail Marketing, Advertising, Coupons and NFC Shopping, 2011-2016,” co-author David Snow predicts the value of mobile retail marketing will hit $15 billion next year, a 50% jump from 2011. While this is a drop in the bucket when compared to other retail marketing methodologies/avenues, it’s important to remember that mobile retail marketing is still in its infancy — and traditional advertising outlets will continue to lose market share – these include newspapers, magazines and various regional/national Yellow Pages.

“Mobile retailing is undergoing rapid change,” said Snow. “We’re starting to see an ‘arms race’ as the power of the mobile channel equips both shoppers and retailers with capabilities they never had before. Each side has to keep up with the other and gain an advantage in order to clinch the purchase transaction in their favor.”

Snow added that mobile Point-of-Sale (POS) technology and Near Field Communications (NFC; this technology allows an enabled mobile phone to be swiped past a merchant’s reader to pay for goods/services) are two areas that we’ll see accelerated growth and innovation. Most analysts, however, don’t think NFC will become main stream until 2015 because payment solution providers still need to address ease-of-use for users and ease-of-implementation for customers without compromising security.

As for what’s hot, there are scores of companies that are rolling out innovative mobile services/products. One area – services built on tags – will continue to grow in popularity.

And one of these, Pinterest, was recently recognized as one of the 50 best websites of 2011 by Time. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard – you can organize/share things on the web via a ‘Pin It’ button. Pinterest says “browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

Another area to watch is social fashion. The mobile world is rapidly changing the shopping experience. One company, New York City-based Go Try It On  has an iPhone app allowing users to share photos of themselves in various outfits and get real-time feedback.

So get ready for the mobile tsunami in 2012 – should be quite a ride.