10 Spectacular Mobile Marketing and E-commerce Essays: E-commerce Link Digest

Howdy, Big Thinkers. It’s a gorgeous spring day here at Thinks Central. Hope the same is true wherever you are. So, whaddya say we skip all the fuss and get straight to the links? Without further ado, here are 10 spectacular mobile marketing and e-commerce essays for you this week. Enjoy:

1. Marketing Charts supplies data showing where consumers rate in-store personalization tactics as “cool” or “creepy.” Given the growth of beacons, NFC and other similar technologies to personalize customer experiences, expect to see a lot more about this in the near future.
2. Along the same lines, the fine folks at WHISBI round-up the favorite shopping experiences of 14 retail experts. Interesting, thought-provoking list.
3. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google rolls out new ads as mobile searches top PCs in 10 countries. The new ad formats are great and all. But read that headline again. Mobile searches top PCs in 10 countries. Wonder why I think mobile’s a really big deal? There’s your answer right there.
4. Speaking of Google, Marketing Charts has the estimated mobile share of US organic search traffic, by engine. While Google continues to dominate, keep an eye on your customers’ increasing use of apps for discovery, possibly hurting Google’s overall market share over time. For instance, according to Google, while three-quarters of consumers use search at some point during their shopping process, fewer than half start with search for their research on mobile [see page 9 in this Google PDF]. Definitely worth keeping your eye on.
5. Sticking with the mobile commerce theme, GetElastic has a great explanation of why mobile commerce is not “E-commerce 2.0.” Well worth your time.
6. Speaking of items well-worth your time, you really want to check out this week’s episode of Thinks Out Loud, our weekly e-commerce and digital marketing podcast. This one examines the long-term growth curve for mobile commerce and is definitely worth a few moments of your time.
7. Benedict Evans has a must-read post about connecting the next billion. Yet another reason I think mobile mobile’s a really big deal.
8. On the mobile payments front, Bloomberg reports that Home Depot is aiming to put Apple Pay in its 2,000 stores, making it the largest retailer to come to the mobile payments party. Given this Marketing Land study that shows Millennials want in-store mobile payments, not human cashiers, I doubt they’ll be the last.
9. For an fascinating example of how mobile will change your customers’ behavior, check out Fast Company’s look behind the scenes at Maple, the David Chang backed, delivery-only restaurant of the future. Really interesting read and a harbinger of the changes mobile creates across industries.
10. Finally, its both pretty clear and bears repeating that, given all the changes in the marketplace and in your customers brought about by mobile, that mobile commerce is here to stay. So why not subscribe to Thinks to stay on top of the shifting digital marketing and e-commerce landscape, every day? You’ll be glad you did.

While you’re at it, make sure to check out other entries from our E-commerce Link Digest series, including these 6 major stories about Millennials and mobile commerce, these 10 must-read e-commerce, search, and mobile posts, these 10 awesome e-commerce, mobile, and millennial marketing posts, a great look at 5-plus can’t miss mobile commerce and marketing posts from the past week, and these 6 quick e-commerce and digital marketing winners, as well as these “7 Mobile Commerce Must-Reads: the Top Posts from April” when you get a moment, too.

Do you want learn even more about how your customers’ changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing? Be sure an register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You can also check out these slides I had the pleasure of speaking to a great audience recently about how to lead digital transformation within large organizations (a topic we’ve been talking about a fair bit lately). Here are the slides for your reference:

And, finally, you might want to take a look at some of our past coverage of the e-commerce, mobile commerce, and digital marketing overall, including:

• 10 Key Posts about Millennials and Mobile: E-commerce Link Digest
• The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
• The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
• 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
• Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
• Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
• Your 2014 Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions – Thinks Out Loud Episode 56