Text Message Coupons, Huge Opportunity

I wasn't kidding when I said service providers should adopt the physical world connection application as soon as possible.

David LaPlante, CEO of Twelve Horses did an interview with InternetRetailer.com. This is a followup to their announcement of 2d codes and coupons being deliverded on the mobile phone.

The coupon service is starting to be deployed in Europe and is under consideration in the U.S. by two apparel retailers and one music merchant. “The technology has definitely hit a nerve,”

Cell phone-delivered coupons – which appear as alpha-numeric text messages that can be entered onto a retail web site, spoken into a voice-recognition system, or simply shown to a store retailer.

The next step is when you can scan a coupon and be directly connected to the retailer's website of choice.

What does every coupon have? Do you see the endless hyperlinks waiting to be connected by a phone?

Do you see how the service provider misses out, but does the heavy lifting?

Retailers as well as other marketers are expected to deploy the cell phone coupon service as part of broader marketing strategies.

And just like that, there's a great mobile application that involves both retailers and consumers that didn't involve a service provider for adoption.