Growth of mobile shopping shows no signs of slowing

New research has revealed that 64% of smartphone owners are now using their mobile devices to shop online, a fourfold increase since June 2010.

The study by eDigitalResearch and Portaltech Reply also found that 84% of smartphone owners have used their devices to browse websites with 33% doing so on a daily basis. In addition 77% said they used their smartphones to research products.

Derek Eccleston, head of research at eDigitalResearch, said: "These results confirm that mCommerce has fundamentally revolutionised the way in which we shop and browse. The growth of mobile is completely unprecedented and the rate of change that we’ve tracked over the past two years is alarming.

"Back in June 2010, we predicted that smartphones were likely to play an increasingly significant part in consumer’s busy lifestyles, and whilst in 2011 we found that great strides had been made towards this, these latest set of results demonstrate that this trend is now irreversible."

The results show that growth of mobile shopping shows no signs of slowing down. 44% of the smartphone owners surveyed said that they would use their devices to browse more in the coming months, with 31% claiming that they would then go on to make a purchase.

eDigitalResearch said the results also seemed to suggest that there is a preference between shopping online and via an app for some users.

Mark Adams, partner at Portaltech Reply said: "Three years ago we were just at the outset of the mobile revolution and this latest research proves conclusively that the excitement and expectation around how mobile would change e-commerce was not exaggerated. Smartphone use as a shopping tool has become mainstream and the arrival of 4g and better connected retail outlets will further drive smartphone engagement in the multi-channel shopping experience. I believe we will see a greater use of mobile and tablet applications to support the in-store browsing, sharing and purchasing demands of the mobile 2.0 consumer."

Security, clear navigational links and quick browsing were found to be key features for mobile shoppers who rated functionality and usability higher than branding and design.

Source : The Retail Bulletin
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