In much of the world, shopping online involves browsing e-commerce
sites or typing what you want to buy into a search engine. In countries
where Internet-connected computers are a rarity, a Seattle-based startup
called Slimtrader hopes to offer Internet shopping via text message instead.
Just like a conventional e-commerce business, Slimtrader relies on interactive databases to handle product inventory, pricing, orders, and payments. But, unlike, say, Amazon, users can interact with this database via short message service (SMS).
"Instead of searching for products with a computer, we make it possible to query a retailer's inventory by text message," says founder Femi Akinde. "You are sent the results and can then buy via text as well."
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: Shopping via Text Message
Author: Tom Simonite
