Mobile commerce is favorable for Dutch consumers

Mobile commerce in the Netherlands has begun to gain significant traction. Dutch consumers have become quite enamored with the concept of mobile commerce, largely due to their growing reliance on smartphones and tablets. Consumers are beginning to shop more through their mobile devices, thus leading to an increase in the demand for comprehensive mobile payments services. A new study released by Blauw Research highlights the growth that momentum that mobile commerce has gained among Dutch consumers.

Mobile sales grow 67% in first half of the year

According to the study, mobile commerce in the Netherlands grew by 67% during the first half of this year. Dutch e-commerce is valued at approximately $550 million and mobile sales accounted for 11% of this value. This growth is expected to maintain its momentum well into the future, powered by more consumers putting a greater deal of value on their mobile devices and the mobile-centric services that they use.

Tablets favored over smartphones

The study shows that tablets are beating smartphones in terms of mobile sales in the Netherlands. Consumers appear to favor tablets because they provide a better shopping experience. Their larger screens enable more convenient navigation and more websites are optimized for tablet use over smartphone use. Notably, 80% of mobile sales, even those made from tablets, were made by consumers at home rather than in physical stores or while outside.

$1 billion in sales expected by the end of 2013

The study predicts that more than 3 million mobile shoppers will be recorded in the Netherlands during the second half of 2013. By the end of the year, mobile commerce sales are expected to reach more than $1 billion. The holiday season is likely to augment these predictions to some degree, especially as consumers begin considering mobile shopping more convenient than other forms of shopping that they have been conducting for the past several years.

According to industry leaders, the technology is now starting a wave in the country.

According to some of the latest data out of Canada, mobile payments, such as money transfers, are starting to pick up quite quickly, as the industry reaches the close of its second year within the country.

Contactless transactions, specifically, are starting to take hold inside that country.

Though the case on the other side of the world, in India, is showing a massive hesitation to adopt mobile payments technology, the exact opposite appears to be happening in Canada. The true strength in this part of the industry appears to be in contactless technology – NFC technology. Tap and go is catching on and Canadians are starting to become accustomed to it.

MasterCard has now ranked Canada as the second most prepared country for mobile payments.

The ranking from MasterCard placed only Singapore ahead of Canada in terms of being prepared for the widespread adoption of mobile payments. It assigned a score of 0 to 100. Canada scored a 42, whereas Singapore received a score of 45.6. The global average was 33.2.

That said, despite the widespread adoption of smartphones in India and its tremendous population, it is still lagging behind the world at a score of only 31.5. This ranking was the result of the data accumulated by MasterCard in a survey that involved the participation of mobile networks, banks, and governments. It revealed that in the Mobile Commerce Clusters score, Canada has fared very well.

At the same time, aside from mobile payments, the survey also identified a number of other trends. For example, credit and debit cards are continuing to grow their share of the overall industry over other methods such as cash and checks. Approximately one in three total transactions are done by cash, and card transactions are picking up considerably within the sound financial system of that country.

Smartphone penetration is also considerable in Canada. That, along with the cooperation of the government, mobile networks, and banks, has meant that this market is increasingly prepared to take part in mobile payments on a mainstream scale.