Google Launches In-App Billing. As promised last week, Google has now launched its in-app billing platform for Android.
That means developers can publish applications to the Android Market that contain mechanisms to allow for in-app purchases of digital goods. Explains Eric Chu, Android Developer Ecosystem lead, this feature lets developers monetize apps using try-and-buy, virtual goods, upgrades and other billing models. Apps supporting in-app at launch include Tap Tap Revenge by Disney Mobile, Comics by ComiXology, Gun Bros, Deer Hunter Challenge HD, and WSOP3 by Glu Mobile and Dungeon Defenders: FW Deluxe by Trendy Entertainment. Google has also provided documentation, a complete sample app, and info on how to implement the service, set up in-app product lists, and test the implementation. In addition, third-party mobile services company Urban Airship is working on a "last mile" tool that will make implementing Google's new system even easier for developers.
Features supported in the program include: Nearly half of mobile users shop via their device. At the end of last year, research from Brand Anywhere and Luth Research found that while over half (51%) of shoppers are more likely to purchase from retailers with mobile websites, only 4.8% of retailers had one.
With the meteoric rise in smartphone ownership, those retailers risk losing mobile phone wielding customers lured to other outlets by mobile websites and apps. New research from Arc Worldwide, the marketing services arm of ad agency Leo Burnett, found that near on 90% of Americans age 18 - 64 now brandish a mobile phone, and 50% are using them to shop. Of the 1,800 U.S. mobile shoppers surveyed for the research 80% were found to be "light" mobile shoppers, who use their phones less often than the 20% of "heavy" users that many mobile apps are geared toward.
As smartphone penetration increases and the mobile channel becomes more mainstream, the "light" shoppers will be the ones to nurture. Furthermore, mobile channels must live up to high consumer expectations. InShare. Reaching the Mobile Shopper: Before, During, and After the Big Sale. Gregg Stewart | March 25, 2011 | 0 Comments inShare18 The role that mobile devices play in the shopping process cannot be narrowed down to an overall, easily identified function.
Think that all mobile shoppers are in the final stage of the buying-decision process? Think again. The reality is that the "typical" mobile shopper doesn't exist. The Role of Mobile in the Shopping Process The bottom line: The role that mobile devices play in the shopping process cannot be narrowed down to an overall, easily identified function, especially when talking about consumers who use mobile devices for shopping purposes. Easier to pinpoint are the changing roles that mobile devices serve, as searchers shift to shoppers and, ultimately, buyers. Before the Store Visit The primary goals of a mobile searcher are to either find a business with a needed product/service or to find a business' address, according to my company's Local Search Usage Study, conducted by comScore.
During the Store Visit.