Hello again! I’ve just returned from the Windy City, visiting the Shopper Marketing Expo and some of my favorite stores along the Magnificent Mile … ah, a shopper’s paradise.

Like most B2C marketing segments, the retail industry is buzzing with mobile. The expo highlighted geo-fencing and location-based marketing, to QR codes and “tap to pay” technology introduced by Google Wallet (if you think this is science fiction, realize it is already in a number of test stores with Office Max, Radio Shack, Macy’s, Sports Authority, and more).

After using various smartphones for about five years, I’ve realized that my first phone was really just smart-ish, usually incapable of downloading a webpage within my attention span. But like many new technologies, we all start to catch up — websites begin optimizing for mobile, carriers ramp up download speeds, handset manufacturers introduce new technologies, and developers create worlds of new apps. From consumers to corporations, we are embracing advances in mobile. Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg said, “There are three times as many smartphones being activated every minute than there are babies being born.”

So it shouldn’t alarm you that smartphone sales will surpass desktop sales by the end of 2013 (Morgan Stanley Research). Really, when is the last time you checked Facebook or Twitter through a PC?

With such a rapid rate of adoption, mobile technology has become a new dimension to most marketing strategies. According to ThinkMobile, 74% of consumers have made a purchase decision from their smartphone. And with GPS satellites, identifying where consumers are in city, store, or within a geo-fence—information can be customized for the consumer. About 95% of smartphone users actively use local search, and of that percentage, 88% take action within the same day.

It is critical for manufacturers at retail to add a new layer to their marketing plan. In my experience, it can be difficult supporting bandwidth for such an effort. I believe the perfect place to start is with one of your common marketing practices — for instance a new product launch. Applying a mobile strategy that talks to consumers at the right place in their shopper journey and with the right message will drive purchase decisions.

As you consider a mobile layer for a new product launch or other activity, be sure to look at what you already offer. Is your website mobile-enabled? Have you tested on various platforms? If you sell direct, be sure to test the effectiveness of your shopping cart through a handset. (According to Harris Interactive, four-in-five or 84% of smartphone users have experienced problems with a mobile transaction in the past 12 months.)

So whether you are exploring geo-fencing and location-based marketing, QR codes, coupons or any of the mobile buzz, optimizing the pieces you already have in place will allow you to use that content in your mobile marketing.

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