Got mobile? Your customers do. An increasing number of consumers tap into their mobile phones to do everything from surf the web to pay for transactions. In fact, experts predicted that shoppers would enjoy Thanksgiving Day dinner—and then proceed directly to the couch with their smartphone or tablet to shop early Black Friday deals. The juicy new term for this mode of shopping is couch commerce.

But whether consumers are buying on mobile while lounging in front of the game or they’re buying through their tablet over lunch break, the fact is that digital merchants need to start making it as easy as possible for customers to complete these transactions. Here are a few stats to jumpstart your journey into the world of m-commerce:

• 12% of American adults have paid for a transaction with a mobile device; however Forrester analysts expect that number to rise. (Forrester, via Mobile Commerce Daily)
• 60% of consumers who buy with mobile make purchases with their device while still at home. (PayPal, via Digby)
• 24% of U.S. iPhone users and 21% of Droid users have accessed a shopping app in the last 3 months. (Forrester, via Internet Retailer)
• Roughly 50% of mobile commerce originates on tablet devices. (Forrester, via Mashable)
• $119 billion in goods and services will be purchased through a mobile device by 2015. (ABI Research, via Econsultancy)
• 49% of those who use the mobile web at least 1x each week have made a purchase with their device in the last 6 months. (ROI Research, via Digby)

When it’s time for your digital business to boost mobile shopping conversion, contact ILD Teleservices. From ILD Mobile to ILD Bill to Phone, our billing solutions provide your market with a friction-free checkout experience. Find out what our alternative payment methods will do for your bottom line.

Who would pay for a non-existent item? Quite a few of us, actually; in fact, U.S. virtual goods revenue on Facebook alone is expected to grow 32% to $1.65 billion in 2012, says a report from Inside Network, and shared on GamesBeat.

What are virtual goods? If you’re not the gaming type, a virtual good is simply a non-physical object purchased and used within an online game or online community. Zynga’s FarmVille, which is one of the most well-known purveyors of virtual goods, allows players to buy virtual tractors or animals for use in their farming simulation game.  Consumers use these goods within a game or community to share, socialize, decorate, and give as gifts. However, in one of the most befuddling transactions, a man paid $330,000 in real money for a virtual space station on Entropia Universe.

Here are a few more examples of platforms that use virtual goods:

• KidsWB Scooby-Doo, which uses Zoinks Points that can be earned by purchasing Scooby Doo products or engaging on the website.
• Smurfs’ Village, in which users can buy Smurfberries or a wheelbarrow of Smurfs. (Check out this story about little kids playing this game and buying its virtual goods without their parents’ knowledge. It’s amusing, as long as you weren’t the parent who got the bill!)
• Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta, where players can style their own virtual housewife and compete in Virtual Housewife Throwdown.  Users can also buy items or earn points by participating in activities, like reading a blog or watching a full episode from the series.

Businesses use virtual goods to monetize and increase a consumer’s lifetime value. But they don’t just benefit businesses. Earlier this year, Sony Online Entertainment created virtual items, like cherry blossoms, which players could purchase to support the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

How can you make virtual goods work within your gamification strategy? Amy Kim, CEO of game designer ShuffleBrain, recommends these 5 steps in Virtual Goods: Why & How They Work:

1. Create a meaningful context.
2. Prime the pump with free goods or currency.
3. Create demand for premium content.
4. Offer fresh content at a range of price points.
5. Make it easy to purchase currency.

Be sure to check out Amy’s full Slideshare presentation for all the details.

If gamification is going to be in your game plan, do your homework. Get started with these blog entries from ILD: 5 Things to Do Before You Try Business Gamification and What is Gamification for Business? A Beginner’s Guide.

To learn more about using LEC (phone) billing to allow consumers to safely and conveniently buy virtual goods within your online game or community, contact ILD Teleservices.

You see consumers latching onto the gamification craze, whether they’re having fun in GagaVille or comparing running stats on Nike+–so how do you take advantage of this exciting new way to engage audiences and nurture long-term relationships? Here are five steps to get you started:

1. Do your homework. Social performance management company Rypple co-founder Daniel Debow advises tapping into experts who are already immersed in gamification motivation and design via the $50 billion game business. Also consider checking out these resources:

• Rewards, Motivation, Competition: How Businesses Can Benefit from the Rise of Gamification, Knowledge@Wharton.
• The CEO Guide to Business Gamification, Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Gamification: How Competition is Reinventing Business, Marketing & Everyday Life, Jennifer Van Grove on Mashable.
• 7 Winning Examples of Game Mechanics in Action, Gabe Zichermann on Mashable.

1. Think strategy. Treat this like any other project: establish concrete objectives that align with corporate goals, then you’ll be able to design the mechanics that help you achieve those objectives.
2. Choose motivation that makes sense. Will you establish a leaderboard, which ranks users against others? Introduce challenges to engage users with single or team play? Will you use Foursquare-type badges to provide easy-to-recognize social signals regarding status?  Will the tried-and-true points system engage your gamers? Always invest time in determining which mechanics will best engage the target market.
3. Integrate the right payment system. For businesses that need to complete gamification transactions, it’s critical to choose the right payment processor. Consumers want payment methods that are safe, convenient, and won’t interfere with the game experience. The good news is that gamification is LEC billable, which means consumers can safely and easily charge the transactions to their phone bill.
4. Invest in long-term participation. Got game? Then you need time. Like social media engagement, gamification is an ongoing process that needs daily TLC. Be sure you have the people-power needed to maintain game mechanics.  

For more info, check out What is Gamification for Business? A Beginner’s Guide.

When it’s time to integrate payments into your gamification strategy, contact ILD Teleservices to learn how our LEC billing system, Bill to Phone, will make transactions seamless and safe.

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