The mobile marketing and retail sector (including mobile advertising, coupons and smart posters) will exceed $8 billion by 2012 globally, according to a new report by Juniper Research. “Mobile Marketing and Retail Strategies” argues that retailers were already starting to exploit the mobile channel through mobile advertising and couponing, and the market for these two activities alone is forecast to grow by half in the next two years.
As for the smart posters — which users can tap to obtain product information — it will remain a niche sector within the overall market until NFC (Near Field Communications) capable devices are more widely used.
To prove the point, Juniper says that during the CTIA Wireless 2010, more than 20% of the show’s attendees were said to come from the retail space.
However, there’s a catch – it is a must to use targeted and location-based ads; Otherwise people can think of various SMS offers as plain spam. In that sense, the report recommends that brands and retailers consider geotagging their products and locations. Moreover, it is suggested that clever and engaging apps can be even more effective.
As always, additional information on the report is available from Juniper’s website.