Mobile shopping is growing at nearly four times the rate of overall online spending in the UK, research from PayPal and Ipsos reveals. From 2013-2016, the UK average compound annual growth rate for mobile spend is projected at 36% versus 10% for overall online spend.
"Mobile shopping is really taking off in the UK," said Cameron McLean, managing director, PayPal UK. "British retailers are making it easier than ever for all of us to shop on our smartphones. PayPal was the original pioneer of mobile payments, and we've seen our mobile payments rise from less than 1% of our payment volume in 2010 to more than 20% in 2014."
A bright future for mobile shopping
As a percentage of UK online spending, mobile shopping is still relatively small. According to the research, smartphone shopping accounts for on average 8% of online spending while shopping on tablets accounts for only 6%. In comparison, laptops, desktops and notebooks together account for 86%.
Despite this, mobile shopping is still significant. A third (33%) of online shoppers surveyed report buying something online via smartphone in the past 12 months, and 23% report making a purchase via tablet. The surge in smartphone commerce is being driven by young adults. In the UK 58% of smartphone shoppers interviewed were between 18-34 years old versus 34% of total online shoppers.
In the UK, 68% of smartphone shoppers have purchased via an app and 48% via browser in the past 12 months. Among those who have used both platforms, 52% prefer to shop through an app.
Product research today; nascent features tomorrow
Currently, smartphone users research products the most, with 24% of all UK smartphone owners/users saying they had "searched for product information on my smartphone" in the past year. Around 18% had "used my smartphone to help locate/find information about a store or business" while 19% had "read customer or user reviews from my smartphone".
However, when smartphone users were asked how they'd like to use their smartphones in the future (out of the things they haven't already done), the top responses related to nascent features including payment options. Some 10% of smartphone users said they would be interested to "tap my smartphone at the till to pay (e.g. using NFC)" and 9% would be interested in "ordering ahead (e.g. coffee or food) using an app or browser on my smartphone".
Barriers to mobile shopping
In the UK, 37% of smartphone owners who had not used their smartphone to shop online in the past 12 months said that screen size prevented them from mobile shopping. This surpassed security concerns (30%) or poor network connections (12%). The findings come as smartphone manufacturers shift away from 4-inch screens, towards 5-inch or larger on their latest handsets.
