Smartphone Users

There has been a recent survey of European customers that confirms the trend for shopper to use their smartphones to research products in store. The report which was conducted by Tradedoubler actually found that 42% of smartphone users use their device to compare prices in store whilst 13% of the users claim to have changed stores after finding a better offer elsewhere. According to mobile research company mobileSQUARED , there were more than 32 million smartphone users in the UK in 2001 expecting it to double by 2012. Also, it is estimated that more than 17 million people in the UK will go online via mobile in 2012 rising to more than 20 million by 2015.

Mobiles and the Internet is a part of every day life now especially for businesses and the technology that is now available via mobile is ever growing and has paved the way for unique brand experiences when utilised properly and efficiently by companies. In 2011, mobile search, ecommerce and advertising saw a huge increase in traffic and sales due to having mobile optimised websites. Research has shown that 11% of overall website traffic came from mobile devices. Going into 2012, the expectant growth of mobile is set to soar at a quicker rate as many brands now have mobile optimised sites giving the customer a better user experience.

Many people use their smartphones on the go, at work, in restaurants, on public transport, at a social gathering or on the go. With these facts and figures it makes perfect sense for a company to have a mobile commerce website (if you are an ecommerce company!). With the ever increasing popularity of smartphones and even tablet devices, the Government has pledged to expand the UK's internet capabilities which in turn could see an increase in transactions on mobile and tablet devices.

Tradedoubler’s survey also highlights the importance of mobile optimised sites with a quarter of responsdents said that are more likely to purchase frequently if the websites were optimised for mobile hence the further need to have mobile commerce websites. On the other hand some people can be quite hesitant to buying online due to issues with security with their bank details and people that do buy online via mobile, the value of purchase does tend to be a lower amount rather than buying something of high value via mobile.

From a marketing point of view, there is still a significant amount of catch-up to be done for mobile commerce to become as trusted as standard ecommerce.