The pre-paid retail (card-based) channel might make sense for a lot of content providers, especially in the entertainment arena: Napster launched a pre-paid card last week; other music companies such as MusicMatch and Apple are planning to do so; RealNetworks already has a comprehensive agreement with BestBuy; Disney, Shockwave and others are now retailing their wares in Wal-Mart, courtesy AT&T’s Webcents card; AOL prepaid starter CDs are being retailed at Target…
It is not easy: retail distribution is a whole different minefield…choosing tactical partnerships might be the best way to go.
(For reasons that may become apparent later, micropayments have a big future in the pre-paid/stored value category…most of this has to do with the economics of micropayments, rather than consumer behavior).
For some excellent background on the pre-paid retail market, read this Frost & Sullivan analysis, as well as this telecom-focused story on pre-paid opportunities.
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