From Mobile "Payments" to "Wallet" to "Commerce"

When nomenclature changes in a business, it usually indicates that supplier expectations of potential profit also have shifted. But sometimes, shifts of language also indicate that different segments of the supplier part of the market have decided to engage.

In 2010, for example, the language was about “mobile payments.” By 2011, the language had shifted to “mobile wallet.” In 2012, the language is “mobile commerce.” In part, that reflects a change in expectations about revenue potential.

In the U.S. market, for example, Isis has shifted its own revenue models from “transaction fees” to “advertising and marketing services.” And Google Wallet always has focused on advertising and marketing.

The mobile commerce language illustrates something else. A large number of observers, proponents and suppliers now say the issue is ways to use mobile devices and consumer behavior to change retailer business processes.

That includes a much broader array of potential suppliers, and a much wider range of business problems to be solved by the application of mobile technology. At least some of that change has been assisted, if not driven, by the widespread interest in tablet devices.

Retailers and suppliers of retailer technology have seized upon the tablet as an ideal device for changing the interaction with shoppers inside stores.

That isn’t to say that innovation about actual payment processing has ceased. PayPal has made major efforts to gain a foothold in processing of retail store transactions, a move that would fuel its business move from online to offline.

Other suppliers of online or offline services likewise see opportunities to sell solutions that bridge offline and online sales. The Merchant Customer Exchange, for example, is an effort by retailers to better control the mobile commerce process in ways that are more friendly to place-based retailers.