My name is Pontus Kristiansson. I believe in every individual's right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. And I believe that by exercising that right, each one of us is contributing to the higher purpose of the Universe. Nobody or nothing is more capable of guiding us to fulfilling the ultimate purpose than the collective intellligence of all living things combined.
I am also the CEO of Avail Intelligence - a firm dedicated to putting Collective Intelligence to practical use. |
posted Mar 15, 2010 1:46 PM by Pontus Kristiansson
Being a serial-entrepreneur myself, I love seeing companies who dare to be the first to go after a new market. Companies who will take the shot and risk failure - or make it big.
And mobile is a new market, by all means. Outside of Japan, commercial transaction volumes using a mobile for anything but ringtones and wallpapers are more or less negligible. In fact, I think one of the key reasons why m-commerce is still considered a new market - despite having been technically viable for at least 10 years - while e-commerce has prospered, is that people have insisted on treating mobile as "just another web browser".
But mobile is different. There is the obvious case of the significantly smaller screen, which makes it important to prioritize harder which content to display. There is also the lack of quick text input methods which makes any kind of forms a sure conversion rate killer. And don't forget the camera, or the ability to call or text anyone you want.
Finally, there is the difference in context. Web usage is often planned - you are sitting down to perform a task - while mobile usage is driven by the moment - you are bored, or you have an impulse urge. Computers are sometimes shared, mobiles are very much personal. By releasing mobile stores that are just mobile browser-enabled versions of their standard web stores, many retailers may be missing out on the opportunities that mobile offers.
However, that does not mean everything is new. Some old tricks still work just fine. In fact, as the case of Bokus' mobile store project shows, they are even more valuable in a mobile context.
Such as strong merchandising: delivering a shopping experience with excellent support for product discovery, up-selling and cross-selling. Because the screen is so small, because adding another product and checking out takes effort, mobile is where displaying the right product at the right time - and nothing else - is the most essential.
After all, the mobile phone is a personal tool, so why shouldn't you expect a personal shop in it? |
posted Feb 8, 2010 11:40 PM by David Johansson
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updated Feb 9, 2010 2:06 AM by Pontus Kristiansson
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There's recently been a lot of negative publicity around the economies of southern Europe. Most of it is centered on Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain (rudely abbreviated the "PIIGS" in a WSJ article). For sure, these countries face challenges, and consumer spending will likely suffer. How should online retailers tackle the gloom?
Here's my take: continue to invest, but wisely. "Invest" meaning continue to build your platform where it matters - the underlying e-commerce operations, traffic acquisition and merchandising. Much like turning off the electricity to a factory, cutting down on these components just to cut cost seldom translates into better bottom-line results anyway. And "wisely" meaning culling underperforming and unnecessary elements. Pay for performance only and prioritize what has been proven to work for others.
By doing so, you can beat the gloom - perform better during any downturn, and be better positioned for the upturn that will eventually follow.
The strong interest in online merchandising from Southern Europe that we still see at Avail seems to prove my point. For example, IBS, a book store, and Bow, a consumer electronics site, both from Italy - went live with Avail in January. Benvenuti! |
posted Jan 15, 2010 5:17 AM by Pontus Kristiansson
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updated Jan 15, 2010 5:36 AM
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I just got back from an amazing conference in Reykjavik, where everybody at Avail gathered for our annual winter Boot Camp. Iceland is an amazing place; Situated straight atop the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates - drifting apart by around 2 centimeters per year - it's a wild, ravishingly beautiful landscape raptured by volcanoes and geothermic activity. Yet it is the home to one of the world's oldest democraties; Already in the 9th century, the Viking settlers gathered once a year at Tingvallir to issue laws and make decisions in a democratic parliament.
At the conference, the Collective Intelligence of all the smart people at Avail was put to work for our customers. You can expect some very exciting developments coming out of it in the coming months. |
posted Nov 25, 2009 9:16 AM by Pontus Kristiansson
I already got myself my own christmas gift; booked a short trip to the alps with a friend after the holidays. To me there's few things better than looking out from the peak of an alpine mountain, skis on, sun glittering.
But for all the near and dear ones I still need to get my christmas gifts and this year I promised myself I would shop all my gifts online, not having to buy everything in a hurry on christmas morning.
For those of you who also decided to buy your gifts online this year; On http://www.pasttimes.com/ visitors from the past will guide you to the perfect presents. With a little help from their new Avail Behavioral Merchandising solution of course. |
posted Nov 19, 2009 2:48 PM by Pontus Kristiansson
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updated Nov 19, 2009 3:00 PM
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This may sound as something from 1993. But I truly love the Internet! It simply never ceases to amaze me. The Avail solution is just one example of the little online applications that constantly evolves to benefit the world in more and better ways when users - I don't even know who all of them are - finds new and cooler ways of using it.
Tonight, I realized I could use Youtube to integrate a video-recorded demo of our solution into the (Google Docs based, online) standard sales presentation our account managers use when they explain why merchandising is so crucial to the success of eCommerce and the benefits we can contribute.
Goodnight wonderful world!
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posted Nov 12, 2009 3:48 PM by Pontus Kristiansson
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updated Nov 12, 2009 3:58 PM
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Another day is coming to it's end in Northern Europe. In the UK, 118golf.co.uk started using Avail Behavioral Merchandising to allow the collective intelligence of all visitors pick the right club for each individual. By simply going about their business, indvidual visitors to 118golf now also contributes to the game of all other visitors.
Good night all golfers. Collectively, you just got a little better. |
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