Tag: uk mcommerce

Mobile shopping is driving retail e-commerce sales in the UK.

UK mobile commerce will fuel the growth of e-commerce sales this year, says eMarketer. According to the most recent forecast from the independent market research company, retail electronic commerce sales in the UK for 2016 are likely to exceed £67 billion (approximately $88.7 billion). Mcommerce will account for a total of £25.2 billion ($33 billion) of these online sales.

E-commerce will represent a 22.6% share of total retail sales in the UK by 2020.

In terms of retail digital sales share of total retail sales, the UK is a world leader. Its e-commerce sales are fueled by the impressive growth of smartphone-based buying from UK consumers. Consumers in the United Kingdom have always been fast to adopt digital technologies, including embracing shopping and buying on mobile devices. The $33 billion mobile commerce prediction from eMarkter is an increase of over 25% from 2015.

This growth in UK mobile commerce retails sales is expected to continue to grow over the next few years. By 2020, mcommerce sales are predicted to surpass £42.5 billion ($56 Billion). The growing retail ecommerce market in the UK is helping to make up for the decline the nation has experienced in terms of traditional retail sales.

Most UK mobile commerce sales come from tablet devices.

Presently, tablet devices are responsible for the majority of mobile commerce sales. eMarketer notes that in 2016, £15.8 billion ($19.8 billion) will be spent via tablet commerce. This represents over 62% of total m-commerce sales.

That being said, more and more consumers are using their smartphones for shopping. According to Bill Fisher, an eMarketer senior analyst, “Smartphone usage continues to have far-reaching implications for retailers in the UK.” Fisher added that “However, more than simply driving digital retail traffic, these latest numbers show that smartphones are now increasingly driving digital sales. Getting the smartphone sales experience right is becoming more vital than ever. ”

While smartphones currently make up only 35.4% of UK mobile commerce spending, by 2020 this is forecasted to change. It is projected that smartphone-based shopping will account for 52% of spending and £22.1 billion ($29.2 billion) sales.

Mobile consumers are not getting enough attention from UK retailers

As consumers in the United Kingdom become more interested in mobile shopping, retailers may be falling behind in their ability to accommodate this change in consumer behavior. A new report from Skava highlights this fact, showing that many of the country’s top retailers are not effectively engaging mobile consumers. This is largely due to the fact that these retailers have not optimized themselves for the mobile world. Their websites, including e-commerce gateways, are not suited for use on mobile devices, which makes them somewhat unattractive to mobile consumers and lowers their performance in mobile commerce.

Many top retailers are not optimized for the mobile space

According to the report, 24% of the United Kingdom’s top 100 retailers are not mobile optimized. These retailers are finding it difficult to engage a mobile audience that is becoming larger and more influential by the day. The mobile space now accounts for 20% of all e-commerce traffic, but retailers that are not optimized for mobile are missing out on this traffic and potential sales. For many retailers, whether mobile commerce has any importance is a matter of debate, with some of the largest retailers suggesting that the mobile space is nothing more than a passing novelty.

Argos finds success in embracing mobile consumers

Argos, one of the United Kingdom’s leading retailers, generated nearly $800 million in mobile sales in 2013. The retailer has been seeing a steady rise in mobile commerce sales over the past few years and have begun to engage mobile consumers more aggressively as a result. The retailer has taken steps to ensure that it its mobile friendly, changing its website and e-commerce services to be more accommodating to smartphones and tablets.

Poor mobile services leave consumers with a sour experience

Poorly designed mobile commerce services have a negative effect on consumers when it comes to the mobile shopping experience. A poor experience can prevent a consumer from making use of a particular service in the future or simply make it impossible for people to actually pay for products that they are interested in when shopping online.