The GSM Association (GSMA) has launched a whitepaper entitled Mobile Commerce in Retail. The document takes a look at the opportunities provided by mobile commerce in the retail industry.

The whitepaper looks at retailing in the round, taking into consideration complementary elements of retail and high street life, such as transport, parking, tourism, entertainment, and the evening and night-time economy. It indicates how mobile can support the digital high street, and how to utilise mobile technology to engage consumers and town centre visitors.

The document aims to provide a vision as to how mobile operators, retailers and the related ecosystems can put all the necessary components in place to realise the full potential of mobile commerce technologies and services.

It includes examples of scenarios in which a fictitious family embark on various shopping trips, explaining how and where mCommerce services could come into play, from mobile payments and ticketing to alerts, offers and parking services. It also offers advice to mobile operators on the steps they could take to support the rollout of mobile commerce services, both within and without the mobile industry.

The GSMA says that in the next 9-12 months, it will be working to define technical specifications for the mobile industry to support the implementation of loyalty, couponing, parking and community services within mobile commerce.

Speaking to Mobile Marketing, Paul Crutchley, strategic engagement director at the GSMA, said the whitepaper was intended to address a broad audience. “It’s intended as a positioning piece for retailers and town centre managers to say, this is what you could look at doing. It should also help mobile operators by suggesting ways of working and technology collaborations so that these solutions and services can be deployed in a consistent manner.

“Retailers are seeing their business cannibalised by OTT player and consumers showrooming, but this is where we are. They need to embrace the technology, and look at how to use mobile in the best way to provide a better, more connected shopping experience.”

The whitepaper is available as a free download here.