NRF Launches Mobile Retail Initiative

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation here has launched a Mobile Retail Initiative to offer best practices and learning opportunities for retailers pursuing mobile-phone based commerce.

This retailer-led initiative will help the industry leverage existing and emerging mobile technologies to enhance the shopping experience and improve internal business processes.

“Mobile has great promise for bringing major, positive changes to the shopping experience, payments, marketing and other aspects of retail,” said NRF President Tracy Mullin. “In addition to developing the standards and best practices necessary for the industry to move forward, NRF’s Mobile Retail Initiative will inspire retailers to realize the full potential of mobile today and in the future.”

One of the first deliverables from the initiative will be the Mobile Blueprint, a document designed to provide retailers with a road map for executing best practices as a part of their mobile retail strategies.

The blueprint is being developed by NRF's Mobile Blueprint Committee, which will also address processes that can be enhanced by mobile technology, including marketing and customer loyalty, payments, store operations and digital. The committee will also work with banks and other financial institutions to provide multiple alternatives for mobile payments, and it will encourage adoption of global standards surrounding mobile technology and use of ARTS standard data names.

Read More of Today's Headlines