E-commerce: As the technology matures, new markets are being opened
up to UK firms doing business online. By Daniel Thomas
Companies should be examining the opportunities created by new
location-based services from BT spin-off O2, according to industry
analysts.
Research group GartnerG2 said the availability of location-based
services, which can, for example, alert a consumer to offers from
their favourite shop as they walk past, is likely to be a watershed
in the growth of the mobile commerce market.
The company, formerly BT Cellnet, said the Source O2 initiative
will allow businesses in areas such as breakdown assistance or
logistics to develop location-enabled applications using real-time
location data from its UK network.
Steve Davies, director of products at 02, said, "By making this
capability available we expect to see third parties, including
application service providers and large corporations, create
innovative location-enabled services which add real value to their
businesses, employees and customers."
Adam Daum, chief analyst at GartnerG2, believes there is real
potential in location-based services that have been well thought
out.
"Our research has shown that consumers are willing to pay for
relevant location-based services, especially when they are
accessing the information via their mobiles," he said. "However,
they have to be customised and specialised - information on
child-friendly restaurants in the area for example."
To take advantage of the expected growth in demand for
location-based services, companies need to form partnerships with
mobile operators such as O2 and make sure they get customers to opt
in, Daum said.
"Mobile users have not shown much willingness to accept spam
[unsolicited e-mail]. Companies need to provide consumers with an
incentive to sign up - some sort of reward for loyalty," he
explained.
Davies confirmed that location information will only be passed to
third parties who have a contract with 02 and have the consent of
the end-user.