Mobile site from Carphone Warehouse launched

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - 09:28 by Mike Price

An m-commerce site from the Carphone Warehouse has been launched this month, with the online portal specifically designed to help people carry out safe shopping online from their mobile handset.

It may seem slightly odd that the Carphone Warehouse has taken so long to offer any kind of m-commerce service, given that its business is fuelled by the devices in this market, but now its partnership with Usablenet has resulted in a fully functional site for customers old and new.

Twenty per cent of the Carphone Warehouse's online traffic is now being generated by mobile users, according to Usablenet's Nick Taylor.

This is an immediate indication that the retailer was sensible in its creation of the mobile-optimised site, since using a desktop site on a portable device can often be problematic.

Mr Taylor said that aside from interface issues, some users were put off from using desktop sites from their mobile handsets, due to concerns over security, which is something that an optimised m-commerce platform can address.

While mobile sites were initially seen as something of a luxury by retailers, the ever increasing number of consumers who do all of their safe shopping online from their smartphones, has made it impossible to ignore the market completely.

Now people will be able to buy a new phone from their existing handset through the Carphone Warehouse, which is a slightly odd prospect in itself. However, the quick turnover in the mobile market, with new handsets introduced regularly and upgrade cycles lasting two years at most, will mean that many UK consumers will happily carry out this type of transaction while out and about.

High street retailers are having to take this multichannel approach if they want to remain in business in the long term, as a failure to adapt can mean closure.