Amazon Shopping Goes Mobile With TextBuyIt

The mobile phone market is growing at an astounding rate, and there is a lot of potential in the mobile market considering how fast-paced and on-the-go our society has become. Amazon's newly launched mobile shopping experience, known as TextBuyIt, utilizes SMS text messaging to allow users to quickly find results from within Amazon's expansive product database.

By texting a product name, description or UPC/ISBN code to 262966 (AMAZON) from any cell phone, anywhere, users will be able to make use of TextBuyIt. If matching items are available at Amazon.com, then the free service will return a text message containing two results at a time. If one of those two items is what the shopper is looking for, he/she can immediately buy either selections by texting back a reply of "1" or "2." If more results are necessary, replying with the letter "M" will return two more results for shoppers to choose from. When a purchase is made through the service, the customer receives a call from Amazon which will then use an automated voice system to complete the transaction. Jeffrey Wilson has outlined the entire experience of buying a product, which is surprisingly quick.

Upon first use of TextBuyIt, customers are prompted to enter the e-mail address connected to their existing Amazon account along with the zip code of the shipping address. As with all Amazon purchases, customers can check on an order's status via Amazon's website.

An excellent advantage that TextBuyIt can provide to cost-conscious consumers is the fact that when a shopper finds something they like in a brick-and-mortar store, they can easily pull out their cell phone and quickly determine if Amazon offers a lower price. Also, for another example, let's say a friend has recommended a must-see movie to you that you have not heard of. Before you forget, you text the title to Amazon TextBuyIt, and within minutes you purchase the movie. As pointed out by TechCrunch, “Deal of the Day” and “Gold Box Discount” items are not discounted when purchased through Amazon TextBuyIt, which is a potential downside.

For those who wish to search a broader product and merchant selection than that of Amazon, mShopper is a similar service, also available free of charge, which allows users to search through the items of its database of more than 75 online retailers, including Apple, Buy.com, Home Depot, Wal-Mart.com, and many others. If you are a business owner who likes the idea behind these mobile shopping services, mShopper is proactively seeking new merchants to join its program.