Mobile Content = Impulse Shopping

Whenever I set out to shop at Target, I always have a mental checklist of items I need to purchase…24 rolls of toilet paper, foaming facial cleanser, household cleaning products, and pet supplies. Once I get to the register and the cashier rings up the total, I’m always surprised about the number of purchases I inevitably make as I wander down the aisles of colorful displays and slick new product offerings. I am a sucker for Target’s international flights of fashion. What an amazing marketing job on Target’s part to recruit hip, young designers to draw in fashion-conscious women like bees to honey, and at a price that we aspiring fashionistas on a budget can afford. Granted, my $50 visit quickly becomes a $250 purchase as I pile on the clothes and other unnecessary sundries that makes me feel like I’ve gotten a square deal.

Something similar can be said about mobile content purchases. Whether you’re buying Tetris the mobile game or a hip hop ringtone for your new cell phone, mobile content purchases are often impulse buys. Something unintended. Why? Unless you have something specific in mind, mobile content equates to snack-sized boredom killers that break up the monotony of daily life. The thing is…who needs 10 different mobile games or 15 different mobile applications? You don’t. The truth? The average consumer isn’t even compelled to purchase one piece of mobile content beyond a $2.99 price point because the mobile phone is still light years behind other forms of digital entertainment platforms. Play Guitar Hero on your DS, watch hours of DVR recordings of your favorite programming, and get social networked on Facebook. There are so many other forms of entertainment competing for your attention. Whatever happened to fireside chats and shooting the breeze on someone’s porch while sipping a cool glass of lemonade? Maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of The Waltons or read too my Victorian novels, but we’ve passed a golden era of live interpersonal communication. But, I digress….

The 3G iPhone is a game changer. Everyone says so, and the truth is iPhone users represent a segment of consumers who enjoy perusing the digital aisles of goodies and downloading ‘on impulse’ free and paid-for games and applications. The iTunes App Store has introduced a level of merchandising that is missing in today’s carrier on-deck environment. Shopping in the iTunes App Store is like shopping at Target to a degree. You can download utility applications and branded games like Spore and not hem and haw on whether or not you’re making the right purchasing decision. Come on – you can afford to download Spore for $9.99. Why else buy a slick device that you can whip out in Business Class on your next flight out to JFK? With the iTunes App Store, iPhone users have a reason to peruse and make both thoughtful purchases and impulse selections. There are a plethora of little known, original games and applications that the average consumer has never heard of…unless he or she is an avid reader of Tech Crunch, Mashable, or iPhone blogs.

What about non-iPhone devices? Well, mobile content publishers struggle to become profitable as they support the mass handset market – porting to hundreds of devices, securing direct deals with wireless operators, and negotiating premium deck placement to drive visibility of their products. But often times, that isn’t enough. It’s a complex landscape that requires some thought as to what the future of mobile content should be, and what consumers are willing to buy on impulse.