At first I was puzzled by the concept of an in-store kiosk that allows retailers to sell downloadable content to their customers. I mean really, would you physically go to the store to download music or other digital stuff to your mobile device? It seems illogical to me. Why not just download it directly on your mobile from wherever you are?

But then it hit me. There are so many people for whom their mobile phone is just a phone. They don’t text message (“I can’t figure it out, but my kids/grandkids use it.”). They don’t go on the mobile web (“You can go on the Internet with this thing?”). They have no idea how to download content directly to it, but they would probably like to get more use out of their mobile device.

These folks are the target market for Displayware, the leading U.S. provider of digital merchandising and media download services for retailers. Their proprietary technology helps merchants nationwide increase sales and enhance customer loyalty by offering consumers the ability to directly download their favorite digital products, including music, movies, audio books, and other media, directly to any personal device while inside their store.

My guess is that no self-respecting teenager would be caught dead downloading stuff at an in-store kiosk. Maybe if it was exclusive content that was free and everybody coveted it. Otherwise, they won’t even consider it. They probably downloaded content while walking into the store from the parking lot without even thinking about it.

Displayware is a valuable service for people who still have the mindset that you have to go to a physical store to buy stuff. Who don’t really understand how to get downloadable content from thin air. They would rather have a real world experience where they hook up their device to a kiosk in a real store where clerks would be on hand to guide them through the process.

Businesses need to remember that because mobile is so widely adopted there is a wide range of uses. Everyone has different technical abilities and comfort levels. Wise businesses take advantage of that.

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