October 9, 2000

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Beyond Wireless E-Commerce

GWcom service lets retailers offer access to rich content via handheld devices

By Aisha M. Williams

More on wireless:

It's A Wireless World (9/25/00) Wireless E-Mail Lets Users Stay Up-To-Date (9/4/00) InternetWeek: The Wireless Internet Is The Future. . . Or Not (9/25/00)

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est Buy Co. is giving its customers wireless access to its Web site through a new hosted service offering from wireless application service provider GWcom Inc. The service is called Usbyair.com, and it's designed to help retailers looking for a more-effective way to reach and retain online customers and enrich their buying experiences.

GWcom's latest hosted service lets retailers offer consumers access to E-commerce Web sites on Wireless Application Protocol-enabled cellular telephones and other personal handheld devices. It also provides rich content--and that, the company says, will help customers make better buying decisions. For example, consumers can view a musician's tour schedule, get links to recently published articles about the artist, and then buy CDs--all via cell phone.

GWcom is one of the largest wireless information service providers in Asia. The company is trying to leverage its experience overseas to tackle the U.S. wireless space.

Other early adopters of GWcom's technology in the United States include eFrenzy, Google.com, Inktomi, and Screaming Media.net. Tole Hart, a senior analyst at Dataquest, says that because GWcom's wireless technology will help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions, it will also make them better customers. "Consumers may go to one of these Web sites because they're interested in information on their favorite artists and actually end up making a purchase," he says.

Best Buy recently entered into a partnership with Rolling Stone magazine that lets customers get information on the history of Rolling Stone and links to articles from BestBuy.com. Those capabilities will now be offered to wireless users via GWcom's services. "Our site is evolving, and soon we hope to be able to offer consumers more than they can get from our physical stores," says Mark Ebel, director of digital communications services at BestBuy.com.

GWcom's service may be slightly ahead of its time. "We want to add more compelling content to the site in the future, but you have to realize that consumers are still charged on a per-minute basis when they use their cell phones," Ebel says, noting that Best Buy won't be able to put richer information on its site until telecommunications providers lower their cell-phone rates. "Accessing vast amounts of information via a cell phone is not cost-effective," he says.

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