Short Nerd Chief

USA Today notes that Those Darn Kids use their mobile phones for more than just talkin’:

Parents may often shop at the same stores as their children these days, but few shop anything like their kids do. Teens and twentysomethings are twice as likely as their elders to use mobile devices for tasks other than talking. And they are far more likely to opt in for text promotions, mobile coupons and mobile search services.The mobile facility of their young customers has also left retailers with a lot of catching up to do. Some major retailers, including Nordstrom (JWN) and Macy’s (M) in some regions, don’t have their full store inventories available for mobile searches, and some products pop up as available only online. Mobile coupons can’t be scanned at the registers, which slows down the process. And shoppers using mobile devices often can’t complete a transaction with a brick-and-mortar store on the devices.

The article mentions Slifter and NearbyNow, each of which purport to check local bricks-and-mortar inventory.  Neither reports any results for Richmond, so I have no idea how useful the services are.  Finding out whether something is in stock and where would be cool, although one could always use the phone function of a mobile phone to figure that out.

Shopping via mobile device is getting better, but it’s still pretty haphazard at best.  Too many websites rely on Flash, which doesn’t work for most mobile users.  Other sites work, but look like hell on a mobile browser, or take forever to download over a non-3G connection.  Other retailers deserve praise (and business).  Amazon’s mobile site loads quickly (it’s only about 6K including images), and you can set it up for one-click ordering using Amazon Prime.  I’ve been known to order movie tickets via Fandango Mobile on the way to the theatre (not while driving, of course).  Papa John’s will let you order pizza via text message.   Apple wants to give you the “real web” via Safari, but I’d settle for a mobile web that works.