Mobile phone to be 'fourth' retail channel

Cisco conducted a study that discovers that mobile devices represent a "major growth opportunity" for the retail industry by providing a new purchasing channel for consumers.

The company's third annual e-commerce study finds that mobile devices are joining physical stores, websites and catalogs as an important retail channel, due in large part to the social networking phenomena and advancements in mobile technologies. This prompts retailers to implement mobile strategies in order to capture new sources of revenue, Cisco asserts.

The e-commerce study was conducted by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group, the company's consulting and demand creation arm for Fortune 500 and public sector organizations.

The study found that the top 10 overall e-commerce sites were Amazon.com, Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City, Quelle, Otto, Macy's, FNAC, Bol.com and Argos Home Retail Group, and that the opportunity in e-commerce continues to grow. Citing data from Forrester Research, Cisco estimates that online sales will reach $204 billion this year and $335 billion by 2012.

E-commerce accounts for 6% of all retail sales in the U.S., the company says. Cisco expects that to morph into mobile commerce as the trend follows an adoption pattern similar to that of cell phones.

Currently, there are three times as many mobile-phone subscribers -- 3.3 billion -- as Internet users worldwide, according to Cisco. Customers will soon expect to use their mobile devices to find stores, research products, make purchases and manage their accounts.

The Cisco IBSG survey found that:

* 42% of retailers provide the ability to view product information on a mobile device through reformatted web pages or specific mobile pages;
* 15% offer the ability to conduct transactions -- make purchases, complete inventory queries, etc.;
* 10% are using SMS to provide information or answers to customers' questions;
* 6% have webpages and a URL specifically designed for mobile use