In the selected markets, 17% of the consumers have used their mobile devices to find, shop and pay for products and services (Sweden 15%, Denmark 19%, Norway 18%, Finland 13%, Poland 18%, Spain 27%, UK 19%, Germany 14% and France 12%). The early adopters are young and a full 28% of the consumers aged 15 to 34 have used their mobile phones to buy products or services.

Consumers who have started using the mobile devices for e-commerce have made it a frequent habit. On average, they made 5.4 purchases in the past six months (Sweden 5.1, Denmark 5.5, Norway 5.7, Finland 4.6, Poland 5.8, Spain 4.9, UK 6.6, Germany 4.5 and France 4.9).

“Mobile devices have become integrated in e-commerce and in consumers' shopping habits. Volumes in mobile commerce are still limited, but they will increase rapidly as the behaviour spreads to new customer segments. Shops can take advantage of these opportunities, but it takes a lot to build a successful mobile sales channel”, says Eric Wallin, CEO of DIBS.

Consumers opt for the easiest solution, and more consumers use apps (65%) than web browsers (35%). Many consumers use Apple products for mobile commerce.

Of the consumers who shopped via mobile phones or tablets, 22% made it through iPhone apps, 13% via iPad apps, 22% via apps in other smartphones, 8% through apps in other tablets, 9% via web browser on the iPhone, 9% via web browser on the iPad, 13% via web browser in other smartphones and 4% via browser in other tablets.

Apps are clearly an important channel, not only to sell digital services but also to drive in-app-sales of all kinds of products and services. In order to reach all consumers, stores should experiment with multiple mobile channels.

How consumers pay in mobile devices
Mobile commerce is part of e-commerce, and payment habits in e-commerce are reflected on mobile devices. Of the consumers that have bought products and services in mobile devices, 44% paid by card, 11% by internet banking, 13% by invoice, 11% by cash on delivery, 29% by micro-payments (such as PayPal), 3% by instalments and 5% with other payment methods.

Just like in traditional e-commerce, the payment habits vary across borders. Cards are very popular in Denmark and in the UK, and also fairly popular in other Nordic countries. Swedes, Finns and Germans like invoices, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Brits and Germans like micropayments and Poles like cash on delivery.

As with traditional e-commerce, e-stores should offer a wide range of payment methods to avoid losing sales opportunities.

What consumers buy with their mobile devices
Many people use their mobiles to purchase digital products or services to be consumed while in motion. 35% bought media and entertainment and 18% bought travel services. But people buy other products as well in their mobile devices. 27% have purchased electronics, 25% clothing and footwear, 15% home non-consumables, 14% home consumables, 10% personal care products and 8% services.

Consumers take their habits from traditional e-commerce into mobile devices. That means that the new purchasing habits are affecting most consumer industries.

Why consumers buy with their mobile devices
Consumers shop with smart phones because it is simple. A third say that they have used mobile devices for purchases because it is more convenient than a laptop or a computer. 30% made purchases with their mobile devices because they were in motion (eg in a car or on the bus) and 18% have done it because the product was used on the mobile device.

Definition of commerce through mobiles and tablets
Mobile commerce and payments evolve rapidly and becomes increasingly integrated into other digital channels. Technology, consumer behaviour and sales channels are changing, which means that multiple definitions are in use. In this study, mobile commerce refers to situations where consumers choose, buy and pay for services or products in smartphones or tablets. These can be distributed digitally (such as music or apps), physically (such as clothing or books), or be services (such as tickets to buses or concerts).

ShareThis

Tags: Applications, Hosting & Colocation, Security, Storage Networking

Read more White Papers»

More DCS TV»

More Audio»

Read more Web Exclusives»

Read more Magazine Articles»

Read more Supplements »

Keep up to date with the latest industry products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies.

• Virtualization Success Depends on Network Automation by Infoblox

• The Infoblox VMware vCenter Orchestrator Plug-in by Infoblox

• Automated Storage Tiering on Infortrend’s ESVA Solution by Infortrend

• Why Cloud Backup: Top 10 Reasons by Autonomy

• How to Measure the ROI of Cloud Data Protection by Autonomy

Latest IT jobs from leading companies.

Click here for full listings»