Tag: smartphone shopping

Most consumers haven’t yet warmed to the idea of purchasing over their smartphones and tablets.

Despite the fact that this will likely be the biggest year (by far) for mobile commerce during the holiday season, the latest research is still showing that most consumers are less than enchanted with actually making a purchase through the use of their devices.

The research results were recently revealed by ICM, and were published in Retail Week.

The ICM research showed that 60 percent of all shoppers don’t plan to use mobile commerce at all throughout the length of the holiday shopping season. That said, one third of the respondents to the survey do plan to use their devices in at least some way as a part of the overall shopping process.

At the same time, the survey also showed that the future is looking very bright for mobile commerce.

We may not be there yet, but things are looking very promising in the not too distant future, due to younger consumers. It is that age group that appears to be the most open to purchasing through mobile commerce. In fact, 14 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 34 are expected to conduct a considerable amount of their Christmas shopping using smartphones and tablets.

A number of retailers have already been discussing their predictions regarding mobile commerce over the winter holiday shopping season. According to Andy Street, the managing director of John Lewis, there is already a 40 percent share of site traffic that comes from smartphones and tablets, so they are gearing up for a Christmas season that is heavily mobile. He stated that “Purchasing from desktop is moving to mobile. It is at 40% and growing very rapidly and we expect to see that moving forward again,” and added that “We are preparing for what we anticipate will be the UK’s first ‘mobile Christmas’.”

Home Retail, the parent company of Argos, has also applauded mobile commerce. Last week, it shared its own figures, saying that there has been an increase of 133 percent in sales over smartphones and tablets, and that 17 percent of its total sales in the second quarter were from these devices.

According to the latest Capgemini figures, UK online retail sales over smartphones and tablets are exploding.

The most recent figures from a study released by Capgemini are showing that online sales struck the £6.8 billion mark, as mobile commerce has taken off in the United Kingdom by 133 percent in August when compared to the same month in 2012.

This included shopping that was conducted over both smartphones and tablets by U.K. consumers.

The figures were calculated as a combined effort between Capgemini and IMRG. They also determined that within that month, overall online sales – including those originating from mobile commerce channels – increased by 18 percent, when compared to the same time last year.

This increase is double what was seen when online and mobile commerce sales from July 2013 were compared with 2012.

An increase in online and mobile commerce sales of only 9 percent were recorded during that period of time. In August, the sales this year were worth £6.8 billion, whereas those from last year in that month were £5.79 billion.

According to the Capgemini retail consulting and technology head, Chris Webster, the increase in mobile commerce sales from £674 million to £1.5 billion is the result of a number of different factors that have occurred over the last 12 months. He stated that “Firstly, the adoption of tablets and smartphones in general is rising all the time and this means sales are rising. Secondly, people are more confident using devices like this to make purchases, especially tablets.”

He also added that companies are now beginning to make their websites compatible with mobile commerce, by creating a shopping experience that has been optimized for the smaller screen and the touchscreen navigation experience. “Rather than trying to reskim their desktop site they are offering an improved customer journey.”

The increase in sales also upped the average shopping cart price. Between July and August, the average total at checkout rose from £72 to £77. Webster attributed this to a strengthening economy and that people are starting to have greater confidence in buying bigger ticket items and making higher end retail purchases.