M-Commerce Gains Popularity In The UK

New research published by Cheil Worldwide reveals that m-commerce is making significant developments in the UK shopping world, with around 40% of smartphone owners in the UK in 2013 using their device to make a purchase, spending an average of £199 each.

Five years ago, a typical UK shopper spent £122 on purchases with a mobile device – a 63% increase from 2008.

The Agile Consumer 2013 research report revealed that half of respondents considered mobile shopping abilities when buying their mobile device. This highlights the increasing role of smartphones as a core element of the shopping experience, Simon Hathaway, president of shopper marketing and retail operations at Cheil, said.

The research also suggests that smartphones assisted with in-store retail experiences for 55% of shoppers in 2013, while 54% of consumers used them for online price comparisons, known as “showrooming”. Nearly half (46%) of all customers researched items on the web before making a purchase. A sixth of users who used their smartphone for “showrooming” admitted to finding a more affordable price with a competitor and eventually purchasing the item from them.

The increase in the number of Britons using m-commerce is likely to keep rising as buying online becomes even easier; even if a smartphone is not used to finalise a purchase, it is used throughout the shopping experience as people use it to research, compare products and seek advice, Hathaway added.

Active online retailers are likely to take advantage of m-commerce’s growing popularity in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, as the busiest period for purchasing presents in 2012 was the two days before the holiday, according to Rakuten Marketing.