Yahoo this week made its shopping site, Yahoo Shopping, available on the wireless Web in an attempt to reach the growing segment of mobile consumers.
The wireless Web version of Yahoo Shopping enables consumers to compare prices, seek gift ideas, and purchase books, compact discs and videos from almost 12,000 merchants via any wireless Web mobile device. The wired site lets consumers shop for a variety of merchandise, including apparel, books, CDs and electronics.
“Through consumer studies, we found that items people are most comfortable purchasing from their mobile phone are books, CDs and videos,” said Christopher Wu, producer at Yahoo Everywhere, Santa Clara, CA.
The wireless Web site, http://shopping.yahoo.com, is bookmarked under Yahoo on Sprint PCS Wireless Web phones and can be found within the portals or shopping category on the start deck of AT&T Wireless Services phones. In order to access Yahoo Wallet, the wireless and online account management service, consumers can enter their Yahoo online password on their wireless Web devices.
Yahoo is featuring rotating links on its Web site in order to inform consumers about the new service.
To further promote the service, Yahoo on Friday offered San Francisco locals free rides in Luxor Cab Co. taxicabs, which feature Motorola Web-enabled mobile phones with the Sprint PCS Wireless Web service installed in the rear passenger area. Yahoo rented 150 cars from the company for one day and marked each car with “Free Ride, Shop Inside” taxi tops. Inside the cabs are the mobile phones and instructions on how to access and use Yahoo Shopping. To alert consumers of the campaign, Yahoo printed teasers on the backs of all Luxor Cab receipts Monday reading, “You Ride, We Pay,” with details of the promotion.
“Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year, and what better place to do mobile shopping than in a taxicab,” said Luanne Calvert, brand marketer at Yahoo.
Yahoo Shopping on Friday also provided personal free valets to help consumers carry packages at the Mall of America, Minneapolis, to further promote the service.
