Tag: mobile shopping

Android users lag in importance behind Apple customers in mobile commerce

As opportunities in mobile commerce continue to grow and change, retailers consistently say that Apple consumer rule mobile commerce despite lower smartphone sales. However, it appears that though iPhone users are a minority they are far more likely to use their smartphones to make purchases and otherwise engage in mobile commerce.

Lucrative mobile commerce business

Apple seems to have bigger visibility with iPhones, but sales for Android powered phones accounted for 52.5 percent of smartphone sales and iPhones made up just 34.3 percent. Those figures can be misleading through, because Apple has huge gains and sales in the tablet market with the iPad alone dominating with 76 percent of the market share. Android and other manufacturers make up the rest.

However, that does not account for those actually using their smartphones to make mobile commerce transactions. These are essentially payments made by use of the smartphone – allowing some consumers to leave their wallet at home. Apple’s iPhone users may be a smaller crowd, but they are by far the most likely to use a smartphone for a purchase rather than whipping out the credit card or paying in cash.

The difference is in the user

Though iPhones account for lower sales, they are higher priced than most Android powered smartphones. In essence, those with less expendable income are far more likely to get a less expensive Android when smartphone shopping. The iPhone user is more into using the smartphone for all of the capacities it possesses and are more likely to be up to trying newer trends like mobile commerce transactions for simply buying coffee at a corner shop. Android users are in on the action, but are far behind iPhone consumers in cash to spend and on the willingness to try new ways of spending it.

Kevin Edwards of Affiliate Window said, “Apple users are typical early adopters. They’re generally tech-savvy individuals who embrace new ways of interacting and transacting online.” He also theorizes that Apple customers are more comfortable about shopping and more confident in shopping online. Not only are iPhone users more active in mobile commerce, the same can be said for iPad users as well.

A recent survey has shown that shoppers want to use mobile commerce while in store.

The results of a study conducted by an ad agency named Moosylvania have now been released, revealing that consumers want to be able to use mcommerce to discover more about products before they make their purchases while in-store.

The survey showed that 80 percent of smartphone owners want better optimized product information.

The report, which was entitled “The Shopping Experience in a Smartphone World”, included the responses of 1,874 American adult smartphone owners. The results from this study showed that among the participants, 97 percent had access of some kind to a desktop computer (including at home, at work, or in another location). At the same time 43 percent had access to a tablet.

Moosylvania’s study determined that product information is among the most wanted mcommerce features.

Norty Cohen, the CEO and one of the founders of Moosylvania, stated that speed is “beyond the essence,” for consumers when they are seeking to make a purchase of a product or service. He went on to explain that consumers “are researching reviews, comparing prices, photo sharing and making purchases in seconds, and prefer doing so equally online and in-store,” through the use of mcommerce and other features on their smartphones.

The survey indicated that owners of smartphones have been using apps and mcommerce sites in order to assist in the purchasing process. They have been using these resources to inform themselves before they make their final decisions to buy. Other findings that were produced by the survey include the following:

• 13.4 percent said that they use mobile devices to research products on the weekends.
• 2.7 percent research product information using a mobile device on holidays.
• 10.9 percent stated that they use mcommerce to look into products while they are at work.
• 30.1 percent of the study participants said they were typically away from home when they performed most of their mcommerce product information searches.
• 19.6 percent said that they have used their mobile devices to look into products while watching TV.
• 12.4 percent use their smartphones to research products while they are in-store.
• 10.9 percent of smartphone owners do not use mcommerce resources to obtain product information.