Mobile retail sales to double by 2013filed in: industry news
written by David on June 10th, 2010 |
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M-commerce as mobile retail is now dubbed is set to more than double by 2013, according to a recent report by Ovum and Verdict Research.
Sales via mobile phones are currently small (£122.9million in 2009 or 0.6% of total online sales) so doubling them is not that huge a leap, but as when e-commerce first started once the initial hurdles of adoption are overcome growth is likely to be exponential.
Currently, 28% of UK adults can access the internet via their mobile handset but just 2.1% of them have used it to shop online. Consumers are using services to enhance their shopping experience by doing research and comparing prices – with 11.8% using their mobile either through apps or the mobile web prior to heading out shopping and 3.8% doing it during their trip.
The researchers believe that the increase in sales by 2013 will be driven by a 119% rise in people that can access the internet via their mobiles while the increased use of smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone, and Android-enabled devices will drive improvements in the customer experience.
The study indicates that mobile will not be a significant channel by 2013, but believes it will be an effective marketing tool that will have the potential to drive sales across all channels.
Christine Bardwell, retail analyst at Ovum, said: “Retailers will need to decide if they’re going to be pioneers in the market and meet consumer expectations, or wait and risk being behind the curve. The opportunities are there for the most proficient multichannel retailers to claim a share of the growing cross-channel expenditure.”
Personally I think that mobile technology is developing at such a pace and the adoption is increasing so fast that these figures may well be conservative, but even if it is only a doubling by 2013 the increase thereafter will be much greater, so I agree with Christine in that now is the time to get yourself in a position to take advantage of the growth, don’t wait until it has already taken off as the major profits will be made by those in at the start.
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