Exploring mobile e-commerce in geographical bound retailing

In the last couple of years, the interest in mobile IT has arisen tremendously, and future directions point towards an explosive, expansive area. This paper explores how mobile e-commerce services map customers´ requirements in geographically-bound retailing. This is done through WineGuide, a geographically-bound recommendation service for wine and food, adapted to mobile phones. The service addresses well-known problems within the area of shopping, by: (1) offering expert recommendations; (2) notifying the user of where products are available; (3) distributing information in appropriate situations; and (4) letting the user search for products. The findings of the study indicate that the full potential of mobile e-commerce services can only be established through complete e-commerce transaction implementation. The mobile phone then has the role of a remote controller, where products are ordered, paid for and home-delivered through a few button-pressings.