British consumers lead world in mobile shopping habits

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - 12:45 by Graham Miller

A new survey from Episerver has revealed that people in the UK are more likely to shop online from a smartphone or tablet than consumers in any other country worldwide.

Fifty nine per cent of the Brits questioned in the study said that they had used a portable device of some kind to make a purchase within the past month, which is significantly higher than the penetration of regular m-commerce shopping habits in other developed nations.

In America, just 50 per cent of respondents made the same assertion, while in the majority of European countries, the penetration of mobile shopping is much lower.

In Belgium, for example, just 36 per cent of consumers said that they had used a mobile device for safe shopping online recently. This shows the extent to which people in the UK are leading the way in terms of m-commerce adoption.

Interestingly, another report published this month suggests that 2016 could be the year in which Brits decide to use their digital devices and related services less than normal. The so-called digital detox trend was identified in a Greenlight survey, with 6 per cent stating that they are going to use mobile apps less in the coming 12 months.

The digital detox is going to be embraced by a relatively small slice of the population, although influential celebrities, including Adele and Russell Brand, are leading the drive to raise awareness about this trend, which may ultimately have an impact on how much online shopping is conducted this year.

For many people, the temptation to keep using their mobiles to shop, communicate and keep themselves entertained is too great to overcome. And these devices have made modern life far more convenient, especially when it comes to making purchases on the move.