I just bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on my cell phone.
The process was so easy. No 800 number to call; no waiting for someone to take my order as I lost my place in the catalogue because they asked for some code on the back; no need to sign on to the Internet to make the purchase; and certainly no need to whip out my empty wallet.
All I did was text “potter” to “467467,” which is what is called a short number. I am not even sure how much I spent on the pre-release book. That’s just part of what companies like about the rapidly growing new form of consumerism.
Get the Codes, Get the Stuff
ShopText is to cell phones what PayPal is to the Internet. All you need is a textenabled mobile phone, an email address and a credit card or debit card, and you are good to go shopping.
When I explored https://www.shoptext.com/main/index.action, I found that a ShopText account was required, but that was also simple. When I entered my cell number and my e-mail address I immediately was texted a “secure mobile PIN.” Then, I was prompted to enter limited personal information and credit or debit card information, and voila! I was ready to Tex2buy.
ShopText was initially connected to PayPal but spun off as a separate company in November 2006 to better capture the texting market. Founder Mark Kaplan told The New York Times, “Ecommerce only represents a fraction of total retail—the thing that holds it back is it’s tethered to an Internet connection. The cell phones link products to media. When people get the impulse to buy, they have their cell phones.”
For instance, the “Go Shop Text” tab of the ShopText Web site has a direct link to Tim McGraw’s latest album, “Let It Go.” Fans can also make donations to the Tug McGraw Foundation charity while they are texting.
Advertisers are signing on. Lucky and CosmoGirl magazines, also found on this tab, carry ShopText codes in their print ads. Susan Schulz, CosmoGirl’s editor-inchief, said, “I’ve always had a dream that girls should be able to buy what’s in the magazine. As she’s flipping through, I want her to be sitting there with her phone with her magazine. It will be very interactive.”
Coming soon to the “Go Shop Text” tab is a link to the New York and Los Angeles-based concert venue, The Knitting Factory, which sells concert tickets via ShopText.
Cyber Red Flags
So what is the glitch?
There is a real disconnect from an instantly gratifying text-purchase to the reality of shelling out money to pay the bill. Like many mobile-cyber experiences, the process is surreal. All I did was exchange texts, which took all of 20 seconds—I timed the exchange—and I had charged an unknown amount of money to my credit card. When I signed on to my e-mail account a day later, I had a receipt for $26.99 that will not cycle to my credit card until next month’s statement.
What will this level of disconnect do to a generation already touted as having incurred more debt than any previous generation? Our cell-phone texting teens are Tex2Buy’s target market, and that ought to be sending up a red flag for all of us.
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Mary Huebner has been involved in youth ministry for 26 years. She and her husband, Pastor Denny Huebner, live in Lutz, Florida. Sons Kenneth, Jon, and Will are also involved in youth ministry.
