Tag: european mobile commerce

European mobile commerce sparks growth despite problematic economic environment

Despite a turbulent economic environment, European e-commerce is thriving, with growth driven largely by mobile commerce. A new report from Transport Intelligence, a market research firm, shows that European e-commerce activity has been on the rise, with many consumers purchasing products online via their smartphones and tablets. This sector is showing strong growth even as similar sectors in the retail industry lose their footing due to troubling economic climates throughout the region.

Report shows that e-commerce market grew by 12% in 2012

According to the report, the European e-commerce market grew by 12% in 2012 while overall retail sales plummeted during this same period. Companies that specialized in online retail saw promising results by engaging mobile consumers, many of whom have become enthralled with the concept of mobile commerce. The results that these companies have seen over the past year have encouraged traditional brick and mortar retailers to take the online world more seriously.

Retailers pressured to adapt to modern consumers

The report notes that retailers are beginning to feel a strong need to cater to the mobile commerce crowd. Advances in technology are beginning to force retailers to adapt and approach consumers in a new and more dynamic way. There are those that have shown resistance to mobile commerce, and e-commerce in general. In the United Kingdom, Jessops and Comet, two prominent retailers, recently declared bankruptcy as they were unable to engage in a new generation of consumers with evolving interests.

Traditional retailers begin to take online world more seriously

The report suggests that e-commerce will continue to experience strong growth in Europe, especially as more consumers become interested in participating in mobile commerce. It is expected that retailers whom offer comprehensive mobile commerce services will find strong support from consumers. Traditional retailers with brick and mortar shops are also expected to put more emphasis on their online presence, developing websites that are more accommodating the needs of mobile consumers.

British smartphone users have the largest percentage of shoppers among European countries.

According to the results of a recent study, among all of the leading eight European markets, it is the U.K. that leads the way in terms of the use of mobile commerce among its shoppers.

The study showed that the United Kingdom is by far the most oriented toward smartphones and tablets.

The study, conducted by vente-privee.com, which is the leading Europe-wide flash sale pioneer online, indicated that 37 percent of the turnover in the U.K. comes from mobile commerce. The other countries that were considered within this research included Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, and France.

Among all of those countries, mobile commerce contributed to approximately 32 percent of online sales.

That figure has grown by 6 percent since the close of 2012, which represents tremendous growth. In terms of the use of the devices for mobile commerce, 47 percent of the sales originated from smartphones, while the remaining 53 percent came from tablets.

That said, the lead of the United Kingdom is a considerable one, above the other seven European countries that were included in the study. Compared to its 37 percent, the country in second place, France, saw a figure of 29 percent. Though this is still a notable percentage, it is well below that of the U.K.

Another area in which vente-privee.com found that there was a considerable lead by the United Kingdom in mobile commerce was in the percentage of customers who shopped over smartphones and tablets. The U.K’s figure was 41 percent, with Germany in second place at a much lower 35 percent.

Among all of the company’s mobile commerce using customers in the United Kingdom, 71 percent were women. The average age of the smartphone and tablet using shoppers was 39, in comparison to the average age of those using other channels, which was 41.

When the study looked into the number of mobile commerce orders that were made, the average was 7 online purchases per year, among which over half were made on a smartphone or tablet. Among those using other online channels, only 5 purchases were made per year through the company.