Maybe the "Mobile Payments" Hype is Misplaced; Maybe it is Really Mobile Commerce That is the "Revolution"

Making a mobile device act like a credit card or a wallet, as important as that might be, might not be the "big" change coming to retail commerce. A potential shift from cash or credit or debit card payments would be a key change for many in the ecosystem, to be sure.

But it just is possible that such a change winds up being only part of a broader transformation of retailing. Changing the way a customer pays for purchases is important, don't underestimate that. But it might be the visible, end user tip of a whole series of changes that might ripple through the backend of a retailer's business processes.

That is a lot less visible, and a lot less sexy, than using a mobile device to pay for a purchase. But it arguably is more important to the way retailers do business, retailing and commerce, than "mobile payments" are.

Not that any of the changes will be especially easy. Changing the way people "pay" will involve investments by retailers and, to some extent, users (they will need new devices), as well as a significant change in behavior.

On the other hand, the "smarter" and contextual value of transactions and behavior that could be gleaned from use of mobile devices could allow major changes to the rest of the retail operations, from marketing to inventory management to channel.