Tag: uk m-commerce

Half of all smartphone shoppers in the U.K. are disappointed with the overall experience.

When it comes to mobile marketing and the smartphone commerce experience that is currently being offered, companies are finding themselves in a jam, as consumers appear to expect the usability of websites to be the equivalent of what they know from the standard web.

Unfortunately, these are two different technologies and the capabilities of smartphones aren’t there yet.

As businesses tinker with their mobile optimized websites, they are often either limiting them by too much of an extreme, or are weighing down each page too heavily with various objects, making it impossible to use for consumers who simply aren’t willing to wait the length of time that it takes to load. According to Eptica, a multi-channel consumer engagement firm, this is making mobile marketing and experience creation an extremely challenging process.

Companies are failing to meet the expectations of consumers in their mobile marketing and commerce.

More than ever before, consumers are receiving mobile marketing and are shopping over their smartphones but the latest survey from Eptica is showing that the majority of them don’t like the experience that they’re receiving. Feedback was received from 1,000 adults in the United Kingdom by way of this research, and what it determined was that 52 percent of those individuals felt that more than half of the websites that they visited using a smartphone or tablet had not been properly optimized for their preferred device.

The mobile marketing data was released in the 2013Mobile Customer Experience Study from Eptica. It also looked into the foundation issues that related to the unpleasant experience that consumers have said that they are having. The primary struggle was related to a lack of functionality both on the mobile web, as well as within apps that were designed for their devices (36 percent). Nearly as many people (34 percent) said that they were frustrated with the long loading times. Another 34 percent said that they disliked the websites that were not optimized to be viewed on the smaller screen of the smartphone or tablet gadgets.

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.