Tag: uk mobile commerce

UK retailers are falling behind when it comes to mobile commerce and consumer engagement

| June 9, 2014

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

UK mobile commerce - FailArgos, 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.

UK consumers may be avoiding mobile payments

| June 6, 2014

Recent study finds that UK consumers are not sold on the idea of mobile commerce

Despite the fact that more businesses are beginning to enter the mobile commerce space, consumers in the United Kingdom may not be following suit. A recent study from eMarketer shows that many consumers are still not convinced that mobile payments are viable or convenient. A similar report from Bain & Co. found that only 3% of UK Internet users had used their mobile devices to pay for goods and services in February of 2014.

Mobile commerce remains an uncomfortable subject for many people

Mobile commerce is often praised for its convenient nature, but it also receives some harsh criticism because of the security issues that exist within the mobile space. Companies participating in mobile commerce have, to some degree, been the reason for this criticism. Some companies have tried to bring their own mobile payments platforms to the commercial market, but many of these platforms have been poorly designed and were crippled by serious security faults. Poor experiences have left many people with a sour opinion of mobile commerce, which is quickly becoming something that they want to avoid.

Consumer awareness of mobile services and payments is not lacking

UK Mobile Payments - Consumers lack interestThe study found that awareness is not a problem when it comes to mobile payments. Approximately 55% of consumers are aware of the mobile commerce services that are available to them, but few of these people are willing to participate in mobile commerce, favoring instead their credit cards and other traditional forms of commerce. Consumers also seem to be quite leery of the mobile commerce services that are available to them, especially those that involve the use of digital currency.

UK businesses must solve mobile security problems before consumers embrace mobile commerce

UK businesses have high hopes for mobile commerce, but whether these hopes will ever be actualized is difficult to say for sure. Currently, security is one of the most significant issues that the mobile commerce space is facing. If security issues cannot be resolved, consumers are unlikely to ever become supportive of mobile commerce.