Best Buy targets m-commerce market

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 - 09:22 by Sarah Collinson

Retailer Best Buy, which entered the UK back in 2009, has launched its first official m-commerce outlet to enable safe shopping online from smartphones and tablet devices.

The company has made the claim that no other UK retailer in the specialist electronics category has made such a move up until this point, which makes it something of a pioneer.

By 2013, it is anticipated that 10 per cent of all of Best Buy's online orders will be made from portable gadgets, meaning that investing in an m-commerce site early is a smart move.

It is interesting to note that Best Buy has not taken the route of creating platform-specific applications, but an all-encompassing website optimised for smartphones.

Some retailers create apps for the iPhone or Android-based devices, but this can alienate large swathes of the population. By using an m-commerce site that can be accessed from any mobile web browsing software, it will open its digital doors to owners of BlackBerry handsets and Windows Phone 7 devices as well.

Best Buy UK's Matt Kelleher explained that in two year's time, it is anticipated that most people will be browsing the web and doing their safe shopping online from smartphones as opposed to traditional home computers.

Mr Kelleher also spoke out about the flexibility of opting for a m-commerce site rather than a dedicated app.

Social media sites including Facebook and Twitter will be leveraged by the retailer to spread the word about its new m-commerce site. This is doubly important, because large numbers of UK consumers use such services exclusively from their mobile phones or tablets.

To help users find the mobile site when out and about, there will be a number of QR codes posted on adverts across the UK, bringing smartphone users straight to the right address.