Mobile shoppers: increasing in numbers, buying more
Some recent data on mobile shopping paints an interesting picture of the present, underlining the impending need for retailers to up their mobile offering:- 15% of consumers now use their mobile as a primary shopping device.
- 85% of millennial parents use mobile to shop.
- 89% of millennials prefer a store with advanced mobile capabilities.
- Almost half of mobile shoppers say they value the convenience of shopping from smartphone, whenever and wherever they want.
- As of 2015, mobile commerce makes up 40% of UK sales; last year it was 32%.
- UK consumers’ expenditure on shopping from tablets and mobiles is expected to increase by 360% in the next 10 years.
- Mobile shoppers spend 66% more than customers who only buy in-store.
- Consumers who shop via mobile tend to spend more on online purchases than people who use their laptops to shop: they make 47% more transactions and spend 55% more.
- 70% of British retailers don’t have a mobile website or app in place. Only 3% of UK retailers say their business is mobile-ready.
- One fifth (17%) of American retailers still have no mobile offering.
One retailer’s challenge is another retailer’s opportunity
Could they be afraid of the challenges? Going mobile is not a decision which can be taken lightheartedly. Customers demand a mobile shopping experience, but they also want it to be effective, easy and smooth. A poor mobile-enabled website or app is more likely to lose than gain sales. According to data,- Not all apps fulfill the expectations. Only 16% of apps are used ‘a lot’ by consumers. More than one quarter (27%) of retail apps have been downloaded and never used.
- Mobile shopping needs to be smooth. Mobile shoppers expressed frustration with slow-loading pages, websites freezing, and having to scroll through too many of products on the small mobile screen.
- Apps are more likely to be used if they offer good guaranties of safe payment options.