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ICAP Ocean Tomo Introduces Instant Messaging for Automated Sales Channels

By Calvin Azuri
TMCnet Contributor

Vendors must find new ways to promote and sell their products as customers spend more time using communication related media and entertainment sources. To help vendors provide better service to their customers, Shadow Enterprises, represented by ICAP Ocean Tomo have designed a patented process that will be of interest to virtually anyone that deals with eCommerce.

On March 31 in New York, the portfolio will be auctioned at ICAP Ocean Tomo's Spring 2011 Live IP Auction. Some of the key characteristics & benefits with this lot is the use of technology to power a vendor's instant messaging presence to create an automated sales channel.

The patent in this lot allows for a system where a vendor signs on with an instant messaging service using a unique name, which customers can add to their contact lists.

A software resident on a vendor's computer will respond by supplying a list of goods and/or services. The customer will then make one or more selection and generate an order to the vendor, after which the customer will be able to initiate instant message communication with a selected vendor for ordering purposes.

Vendors will also be able to have commerce-enabled instant messaging profiles just as they have eCommerce websites. The Instant messaging commerce applications have additional advantages. They are powerful and engaging interactive marketing tools that provide a constant presence to the customer and they also allow vendors to send out proactive marketing messages.

This new patent will be of interested to all ecommerce vendors because market research suggests that by 2012 there will be more than 1.6 billion instant messaging users around the world. The worldwide market for online mobile shopping is also projected to reach $119 billion by 2015.

Based on these figures, this lot should be of interest to software companies, retailers, mobile service providers, and virtually all entities involved in eCommerce.

ICAP is a global broker and provider of post trade services. The Group matches buyers and sellers in the wholesale markets in interest rates, credit, commodities, foreign exchange, emerging markets, equities and equity derivatives through voice and electronic networks.