This Christmas, as many as 7.7 million time-poor UK consumers with smartphones want to shop on their mobiles to buy gifts, do their food shopping and send presents directly to save time. However, only a handful of the retail giants, such as Tesco, M&S and Amazon, are prepared with mobile shopping sites.
So finds a study carried out last weekend for mobile shopping club Glamoo by Populus, which also estimates that some 3 million smartphone users already shop at least once a week on mobile, but that they are limited to mainly buying music, games and tickets, as well as some electronics. Other traditional retail goods are still not widely available. Of those surveyed, almost 60% said that payment security and difficult to use mobile sites were putting them off.
Consumers are ready, but retailers aren’t.
When asked why they would want to shop on their mobiles, 59% said it was to save time and 31% said for convenience. 42% said they would shop on their mobile whilst in the passenger seat of a car and 28% would do the same on their daily commute.
The survey also finds that while many are looking to use mobile to save time, they also see it as a way of saving time in looking for the best price on what they want – it allows them to shop around more effectively with the limited time that they have, using location services and price comparison.
The survey also revealed that approximately a quarter of the population currently have a smartphone and that these are the people doing most of the mobile shopping, using the mobile to save time buying everything from groceries to foreign holidays.
Almost half of the women asked said they would pass on a good deal to friends and family, whilst a quarter of men would do the same. Of the people who said they would be driven to purchase by local offers, a significant 69% were men, suggesting men are more prone to a quick and easy bargain.
Simone Ranucci Brandimarte, CEO of Glamoo says: “The generation of mobile shoppers (GOMS) has arrived. We can reveal that 29% of 18-34 years olds are potentially the most prolific mobile shoppers and the south east has the highest penetration of mobile purchasers in the UK at 20%. We can also disclose that there is a high potential for whoever will launch mobile commerce offers.”
However, despite the willingness of consumers to join the uprising, there are still some factors putting some people off. Almost 60% said that payment security and difficult to use websites acted as deterrents when shopping on a mobile, with 70% of security conscious shoppers opting for PayPal as the favourite method of payment. Retailers and brands can seize this opportunity to get mobile-ready and attract new customers.
In the run up to the Christmas shopping season, consumers have shown an interest in using their mobiles for anything from grocery shopping to buying gifts. Half of those with smartphones said that they would buy a present on their phone this year and 44% of women would use their mobile to send a gift directly. The convenience of the mobile has offered the busy modern lifestyle some support and it looks as though the way we shop is going to continue to change and at a rapid speed.
