Sprint to offer online shopping on cell phones
|
|
|
| Posted
:
Thu, 13 Sep 2007 05:29:07 GMT |
| By
:
Reuters |
| Category
:
US (Business) |
| News Alerts by
Email ( click
here ) |
|
US Business News |
Home
|
|
|
|
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp customers can now use mobile phones to shop for everything from shoes to televisions in a new service the No. 3 U.S. wireless company has launched to boost revenue.The company said on Thursday it is providing a mobile Web portal for shoppers to compare prices or buy about 7 million products from 30 online retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc , Target Corp bluefly.com and shoes.com.Sprint, which developed its Mobile Shopper service with privately held start-up mShopper.com, said it is the first to launch such a service in the United States.It said it will not charge mobile users extra subscription fees for the service, but it will charge them for Web access."The big opportunity for Sprint is the potential increase of data usage," said Sprint product manager Charnsin Tulyasathien.Sprint, along with its rivals, has been pushing data services such as Web surfing and video and music downloads in an effort to get customers to use their phones for more than just talking.While online shopping from desktop computers have long become mainstream, mobile commerce has yet to take off as the adoption of Web-surfing on cell phone has been slow.But faster wireless data speeds and better handsets could boost the mobile shopping market, said Jupiter Research analyst Alan Goode.Goode forecast the North American market for mobile online shopping would increase to $505 million in 2008 and $1.9 billion in 2010 from about $40 million in 2006. This compared with a $200 million market in Europe in 2006.Initially, Tulyasathien expects the comparison shopping feature to be more popular among Sprint shoppers than purchasing, but he believes that will change."As people become more comfortable, I wouldn't be surprised if they started making more purchases through Mobile Shopper," he added.(Reporting by Sinead Carew)
(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
US economists: 'Jobless' recovery to reach bottom at start of 2010
Washington - The US economy will start adding jobs some time in the first quarter of 2010, ending a so-called jobless recovery that has plagued the world's largest economy since the summer months, according to a survey released Monday. But the Nati...
Hershey, Nestle, sweeten war for Cadbury
Washington - Hershey and Nestle are expected to jump into the war over Cadbury sweets, media reports said Saturday, just weeks after the British-based stalwart rejected a hostile bid by US Kraft Inc. The growing market for chocolate in the developing...
US stock drop slightly on Dell profits, mixed for week
New York - Technology and energy shares pushed US stocks lower Friday, capping a mixed week for investors amid unease about the pace of the world's economic recovery. Tech stocks slid after a disappointing earnings report from computer giant Dell, wh...
GM: Opel restructuring plan by mid-December; cuts up to 25 per cent
Washington - US carmaker General Motors will present a new restructuring plan for its European operations by mid-December, Nick Reilly, the new head of GM Europe, wrote on his new blog Friday. While the details were still being hashed out, Reilly war...
US stock sell-off on fears of weak recovery
New York - US stocks followed global markets in a broad decline amid investor fears over the world's uneasy recovery from recession. Major US stock indices fell about 1 per cent on average, following hefty declines in the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 and Japan's...
US leading economic indicator gains 0.3 per cent
Washington - A key measure of US economic performance gained in October, according to a private research group Thursday, signalling that a broader recovery may be taking hold. The New York-based Conference Board's Leading Economic Index added 0.3 per...
US stocks fall slightly on technology earnings
New York - US stocks posted modest losses Wednesday on poor profit forecasts from technology firms and a surprising dip in home construction. Earnings from Salesforce.com and Autodesk were worse than expected. Other technology shares losing ground in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
