News

Half of smartphone users now shop online via mobile device

May 10, 2011

Fifty percent of smartphone users now have  completed some sort of purchase with their mobile phones, a 20 percent increase in the last nine months. Eleven percent of users now using the device to make a purchase on a weekly basis, according to a recent study.

The study, from eDigitalResearch and Portaltech, also shows that smartphone owners are increasingly using their phones to shop, browse and research for products.

The report looked at the increasing role of mobile in retail commerce and surveyed both smartphone and non-smartphone users. The results show the continuing shift in consumer behavior as more and more shoppers are adapting to new technologies, browsing, shopping and interacting with brands while on the go.

“This study reinforces what our previous results have shown; that 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 and interact."

The results indicate a growing trend in which smartphones are being used more as an essential lifestyle accessory, with almost a 15 percent rise in the number of consumers interacting with mobile applications on a daily basis.

Results also show that consumers' expectations of mobile websites have dramatically increased since research results last year; 31 percent of users now say that quick browsing should be an essential feature of mobile websites, compared with just 20 percent who said the same last June.

Other significant factors that people see as essential include security, fast loading images, zoom functions and a professional looking site, reaffirming that consumers expect to find the same coherent retail message across channels.

Smartphone users who said that they never shopped online reduced from 70 percent last June to 49 percent. Similarly, smartphone owners who said that they expected to browse and purchase more on their phones in the next 12 months more than doubled to 46 percent form 20 percent.

“I hope this research reassures reluctant retailers that mobile is not a flash in the pan, but a rapidly increasing channel that should be integrated into wider marketing, social and commercial strategies," said Rachel Wilkinson, head of brand and retail at Portaltech. "Mobile is unique in that it is the most portable and accessible channel to a consumer – you are literally in the palm of your customer’s hands and this level of accessibility allows retailers to deliver messaging, marketing or unique experiences in a totally different way from any other channel.”