Some cellular companies tried to offer concierge services in the late 1990s, whereby callers could dial and have a person find and order items. By 2004, Forrester Research estimates that more than 70 million U.S. households will have wireless phones, and that more than 55 million will shop online. Wexler says that wireless commerce will serve as an adjunct, not a replacement, to PC shopping, allowing customers, for example, to summon price comparisons right in the store. For retailers, of course, that heightens the pressure on pricing. But there are advantages to compensate.
Research shows that customers who have many options tend to spend more with individual merchants.
Ultimately, the goal is to move toward even wireless payments. In parts of Europe and Asia, consumers are adept at using wireless devices for messaging and gathering information because home computers are less common. Accenture estimates that Americans lag two to three years behind Europe and Japan in wireless use. Americans are more resistant to typing onto tiny wireless keypads, Wexler said. Efforts here have been hampered by the several different types of wireless technology here, too, he says.