Author: Dan Gendro

Nearly half of all of the traffic on the internet from Canada stems from a smartphone, tablet, or similar gadget.

According to the research firm, comScore, the use of mobile devices by Canadians is making its way beyond an important milestone, as the number of hours spent online over these gadgets closes in on the fifty percent mark.

Of all of the time that Canadians spend online, 49 percent of it comes from smartphones and tablets.

Canadians are currently spending an average of 33 total hours online when taking the use of all of their connected gadgets into account. Forty nine percent of that is coming from mobile devices such as their cell phones, tablets, wearable technology gadgets, the iPad Touch, and other connected electronics. If things continue in the same direction, it won’t be long at all before people in Canada are using their smartphones and tablets for more of their online time than their laptops and desktop computers.

comScore explained that messaging apps, web searches and social networks are driving the use of mobile devices upward.

The firm explained that these are the purposes for which mobile gadgets are being most used while connected to the internet. For some of those users, smartphones and tablets represent the only way in which they are using the internet, and they have given up on their desktop and tablet computers, altogether.

There are currently 1.3 people in the country that will use a mobile device exclusively for accessing the internet, and who will not even touch a traditional computer, said senior account manager at comScore, Paul Rich. Rich explained that “Four per cent (of Canadian Internet users) look at online content in a month with (just) their mobile devices — their smartphone or tablet —and they don’t access anything on the desktop. That’s an emerging shift we’re seeing.”

On the other hand, while the use of mobile devices the only way that 4 percent of Canadians were accessing the internet, there was still a tremendously larger 47 percent who used their computers exclusively for their online activities, added Rich. Among those who used only smartphones or tablets, women made up 55 percent.

New shopping startup could make mobile shopping easier

Numerous companies are trying their hand in the mobile commerce market, but few are taking steps to introduce more convenience to this space. Mobile payments have become quite popular because of their convenient nature, but one company wants to take this convenience to a new level. Curbside, a shopping startup backed by $9.5 million in seed and Series A funding, aims to make the mobile shopping experience easier for consumers.

Curbside partners with retailers to make it more convenient for consumers to shop online and pick up products

Curbside plans to facilitate mobile shopping through its retail partners, of which Target is included. The Curbside application can be used by consumers to shop from an existing inventory provided by the company’s retail partners. Products can be purchased directly through the app, and Curbside will pick up these products so they can be retrieved by the shopper on the same day. The app uses geolocation technology to alert retailers where a customer has arrived at a store. Retail associated will then deliver purchased products directly to a consumer’s vehicle.

Retailers have had trouble engaging mobile shoppers in the past

Curbside may be a good way for retailers to engage mobile consumers more effectively. The convenience that the service offers is expected to be well received among consumers, but Curbside is currently only available in a very limited area. In partnering with Target, the company hopes to begin expanding more quickly in the coming years.

Retail industry must adapt to the interests of mobile consumers

Mobile commerce has become a powerful force in the retail industry. Many retailers are trying to engage the growing number of mobile consumers that want to make use of services that are specifically designed for their smartphones and tablets. This has proven to be a difficult task, however, and many retailers have had trouble engaging mobile consumers effectively. Companies like Curbside could be a major benefit for the retail industry, providing them a way to connect with mobile shoppers without having to develop a completely new mobile commerce solution.