NEW YORK - Mobile is not only effective as a transaction platform itself, but also as a traffic driver to retail stores and online, per panelists at the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2011 conference.

During the ?CEO Tips: Mobile as a traffic driver to retail and other channels? session, panelists discussed how SMS and MMS marketing, banner advertising, rich media units, mobile bar codes, mobile  applications and optimized-sites all add legs to retail. The panel was moderated by John Styers, vice president of corporate strategy and industry relations at 3Cinteractive.

The conference was organized by Mobile Commerce Daily.

?SMS is a connective tissue,? said Tim Miller, CEO of Sumotext, Little Rock, AK. ?SMS is just an enabler of whatever you want to do.

?It?s the best way to collect emails address or app downloads,? he said. ?Leveraging all your channels is the way to go.?

Mobile push
In addition to SMS, push notifications is another way to communicate with consumers.

?It?s a great way to communicate both off-site and off-app whether you?re getting them to opt-in via Facebook or by short code,? said Andrew Paradise, CEO of Aislebuyer. 

?One of the values of thinking more broadly is that you start to think about hitting the consumer with a compelling offer and link,? he said.

A consistent theme that the company sees is that more retailers are looking to add an option or trial of QR codes.

?So when a consumer enters that environment, a retailer helps them interact,? Mr. Paradise said. ?One remarkable thing is that almost 40 percent of consumers who own a smartphone, use comparison shopping technology.?

Brian Deagan, CEO of Knotice said that mobile bar codes are a form of communication between retailers and consumers.

?We?re doing a lot of 2D bar code programs and one of the programs that I?m most proud of is that we?re putting 2D bar codes on the these lawn mower keychains and when consumers scan it they get product information,? Mr. Deagan said.

All about bar codes
Patrick Collins, CEO of 5th Finger, agreed that mobile bar codes are another form of communication and a way to engage consumers with retail products.

?However, the real issue is whether the consumer recognizes if it?s scannable,? Mr. Collins said. ?QR codes are open and standard and that will be the format that takes route, but a lot of retailers have bar codes on their shelves already.

?The issue is whether consumers know that it can be scanned,? he said. ?There?s no doubt that in the retail environment, it?ll be more prevalent.

?Retailers need to grab control, license a standard and do it themselves.?

Future of mobile
Brands and marketers are losing control of the consumer experience with QR codes, per Eric Litman, CEO of Medialets, New York. ?They?re jumping into some comparison tool, so there?s another problem to be solved in the midst and find out how to get the retailer more involved in the scan and more involved in the transaction."

Similar to mobile bar codes, applications are another  tool that retailers can use to engage consumers.

?We?re seeing no slow down with the adoption of app use,? Mr. Litman said.

?At the same time, we?re seeing meaningful growth in the mobile Web side and you have to look at where the consumers are and look at that behavior,? he said.

It is important to tailor relevant information to consumers, per Alistair Goodman, CEO of Placecast.

?We started with apps and we still power some location elements of apps,? Mr. Goodman said. ?You have to give the consumers control.

?Let them tell you what they want,? he said.

Final Take