Thanks to my good friend and future business collaborator David Fieldhouse for this five quick predictions for mobile in 2011. In all honesty, Dave could have written a list three or four times as long as this, yet managed to condense his fantastic knowledge into five simple points. These are the things that Dave, founder of Lucidity Mobile, believes will be happening for brands in 2011:
1) Domination of the smartphone
The smartphone will reach 50% penetration and drive the whole market. Android will dominate and overtake Blackberry and iPhone. Microsoft will ramp quickly and also overtake iPhone in the UK. Nokia devices will be the last choice for consumers and may be bought by Microsoft (maybe!). These handsets will generate more impressions, more interactions, more apps and more mobile friendly destinations.
2) M:Commerce
M:commerce is set to explode next year both in app and via mobile sites. Ebay sold $500m worth of goods in 2010 and now Marks and Spencer, Ocado, Tesco and John Lewis are now selling product via the mobile device. E:commerce sparked the web explosion and mobile will be no different next year.
3) Social Commerce
The holy trinity of location, social media and vouchering will be huge in 2011. Facebook Deals allow consumers to “check-in” to real locations and claim a free offer or discount. The scale of Facebook will change the way retailers use social media and mobile.
Matt – You can see more about our views on Social Commerce and location-based technology in the following presentation:
4) Augmented Reality
Brands have been experimenting already with AR but expect more on-pack and revenue generating campaigns next year. The technology will become more
immersive, more mobile and more ubiquitous in 2011.
Me – AR has always felt a bit gimmicky. Used by some agencies to show how creative they are with technology, but yet there haven’t always been the best uses for the long-term. I think AR will see break-throughs in multiple areas from education to gaming, to further developments of street level AR.
5) (Genuine) Near Field Communication (Finally!)
Want to pay for stuff by just swiping your phone? 2011 will see this happen primarily with Barclaycard contactless payments and Orange. Expect others to follow suit with Oyster on your mobile coming at the end of the year.
Me – The Barclays ads have highlighted that contactless technology is something that will make our daily lives a whole lot smoother/quicker/wetter? but the more brands that roll up NFC into their offerings the more we are going to be helped out as consumers. Oyster on mobile? That is something which would definetly help on those bleary Monday mornings.
For more from Dave Fieldhouse and Lucidity Mobile Click Here
