Article

Research: Mobile is increasingly important in the multichannel mix

The number of U.K. consumers using a smartphone to shop has grown 13 percent in the last nine months.

June 7, 2011

New research from eDigitalResearch and Portaltech shows that almost half of Smartphone users (48.2 percent) have now shopped online and on their mobile, increasing by a dramatic 13 percent in just nine months.

The study, which looked into the multichannel browsing and shopping habits of U.K. consumers, found that, in comparison, smartphone users are shopping less and less in store, with visits dropping to 56.6 percent from 72.7 percent as consumers adapt to other channels for browsing and purchasing needs.

The results confirm the rapid pace at which the mobile market is developing and for retailers cements the importance of creating coherent multichannel strategies for consumers.

eDigitalResearch is a provider of digital market research; Portaltech is an e-business consultancy that specializes in the design, implementation, integration and support of e-commerce, m-commerce and multichannel retailing solutions.

"The dramatic increase in smartphone use is fundamentally affecting consumer behavior," said Chris Russell, director at eDigitalResearch. "We are entering into an age of MEcommerce, a shopping revolution where the consumer now has the power to dictate to retailers where, when and how they want to shop. These results clearly show that smartphone owners have already increased the use of phones for researching and browsing products at home, out and about and in store too, and will no doubt continue into the future."

"This is a really exciting time for retail," said Mark Adams, sales and marketing director at Portaltech. "Technology is evolving quickly and what is most interesting is how rapidly consumers are adapting to it — especially the younger generation and more fashion-led sectors. We can see how mobile has gathered pace extremely rapidly and this is because mobile serves a real purpose — allowing the customer to browse, shop or find information wherever they are and whenever it is most convenient".

The research demonstrates to retailers the importance of developing both a mobile website and an app, as shopping and browsing across both platforms has increased, with a staggering 30 percent of smartphone users browsing mobile websites on a regular basis.

"Mobile presents a huge opportunity for brands and there is no doubt that this major shift in consumer behavior will continue to develop over the forthcoming months and years," said Russell. "These latest results indicate that an incredible 46 percent of smartphone users expect to increase the amount of browsing and shopping they do via their device in the not so distant future."

The full results of the survey can be downloaded here.

(Photo by Yutaka Tsutano).