UK consumers rank M&S best for m-commerce satisfaction

Friday, February 4, 2011 - 10:36 by Simon Crisp

Marks & Spencer has come out on top of a recent study to determine which UK retailer offers mobile users the most convenient, coherent way to carry out safe shopping online via their smartphones.

A survey conducted by eDigitalResearch, looked at various websites, some of which have been optimised for mobile platforms and others which are still used in their desktop form by mobile shoppers.

It was found that customers are becoming increasingly satisfied with the experience of m-commerce provided by mainstream retailers, although it looks like more work needs to be done in order to secure a greater number of consumers.

Spokesperson Derek Eccleston, said that the growth of smartphone ownership was putting more pressure on retailers to make the m-commerce experience as user-friendly as possible. He said retailers need to make sure that mobile users are not penalised by shoddy design or limited functionality when compared to the full desktop sites.

The study put a percentage rating on each of the retailers involved, with Marks & Spencer winning the day with 88.8 per cent, a small rise when compared to a previous survey conducted last September.

Chief among the M&S m-commerce achievements was the implementation of an advanced search tool which allows for consumers to quickly find products and filter based on keywords.

In general, the survey found that while m-commerce has made improvements in recent months, it is still full desktop sites which attract most people to safe shopping online. The initial impact of mobile sites can have a significant impact on whether or not a sale is made, so retailers are being encouraged to make the first impression as positive as possible.

Experts are advising against the m-commerce route being taken by retailers like Waitrose, which means only certain products can be ordered online, unnecessarily limiting the usefulness of the mobile site.