Consumers embrace mobile commerce, but are still unaware or wary of mobile payments
Consumers embrace mobile commerce, but are still unaware or wary of mobile payments
A new survey has found that the UK consumer is embracing mobile shopping experiences, but that paying with their smartphone is still an idea they have to get used to.
UK media planning and buying agency MediaCom surveyed a 1,000 people from across the UK about their mobile phone habits and has just published the results in The Age of Mobile Report.
It revealed over half (55%) now own a smartphone and 42% of all people in the UK have used their mobile at some point in the shopping process.
Shopping at home or on the go
The research also found that ‘m-commerce’ could be split out by the different behaviours of those who owned tablets and those shopping via smartphone: 50% of tablet owners said they did not take them out of their homes. But 57% of those had visited a company’s website as a direct result of seeing an ad on TV.
Some 36% (59% of smartphone owners) had searched for a product using mobile internet; 25% (41% of smartphone owners) had read an online product review on their mobile; and 22% (38% of smartphone owners) had made a purchase via a retailer website or app using their mobile.
Interactivity still in infancy
Yet the results also suggested that, while UK consumers were able to easily identify with an e-commerce experience delivered via a mobile platform, they were still unaware of more interactive functions.
Over two-thirds (77% or 63% of smartphone owners) of people had never scanned a quick response (QR) code. And only 8% (13% of smartphone owners) had used augmented reality (AR) apps such as Aurasma, which has been employed by a number of retailers and mannufacturers including Clarks.
The report also found a further 88% of people in the UK said they had never used their phone to make a cashless payment.
Consumer m-payment scepticism
As part of the MediaCom consumer research division, the Real World Insight team took further insight from a team of 36 video bloggers selected from around the country.
Julia, 25, from Bath said: “I don’t like the idea of everything being in one place – what happens if your phone gets stolen? I don’t see it being too much of an issue to have a debit card or purse with you.”
But participants frequently cited the convenience and immediacy of m-commerce as an advantage. Gordon, 32, from London for example said: “I was with friends having a couple of drinks and we were reminiscing about years gone by ... An old show called ‘The T-Bag Series’ came up – the first four seasons were on Amazon and, lo and behold, I’ve ended up with these DVDs.”
“I continually buy things on my mobile,” added Ali, 33, from Shropshire. “I’m terrible for it because I end up buying things I haven’t really thought too much about. I bought a pack of Belvita on my mobile because I was at a conference talking to someone about Belvita – I immediately went on the Amazon app and bought them online.”
Fast developing shopping channel
Pauline Robson, director of Real World Insight at MediaCom, commented: “M-commerce is becoming an accepted part of people’s lives. Smartphones are changing the way people shop – whether it’s scanning barcodes to compare prices, reading product reviews while instore or buying through retailer apps.
“Mobile contactless payment however has yet to gain traction amongst consumers. There are still unanswered questions for people over security and particularly what happens if you lose your mobile.”
Robson added: “Apps like Blippar and Aurasma and trends like QR codes are catching on, but they have to provide experiences and content that are worthwhile. Disappointing experiences mean that people won’t use them again in a hurry.”
