Security issues and poor site design hampers m-commerce uptake

Tuesday, July 1, 2014 - 10:58 by Paul Tissington

A new report, from IDG Global Solutions, has revealed that while people are keen to use their smartphones and tablets to carry out safe shopping online, they are being put off from doing so by a combination of sites that are poorly optimised and concerns about security, according to The Drum.

Seventy five per cent of respondents to the study said that they regularly choose to watch video clips on their portable devices, which shows that, in some areas, there are sites and services that are well equipped to deal with the growing mobile demand. But in the retail sector, it seems that companies are less well prepared, leading to dissatisfaction amongst consumers.

Perhaps most interesting was the fact that 40 per cent of those questioned in the survey revealed that they had completely ditched a traditional PC or laptop, as a result of adopting a smart device, whether phone or tablet.

This means that in a growing number of households, there are those who only have a device with a touchscreen display through which to shop online. And if e-commerce sites are not well optimised for use on such a gadget, then retailers will see their customers head to greener pastures.

The competition for smartphone and tablet shoppers should really be fierce, but for some reason, a surprising number of companies are complacent about the kind of experience that they offer to visitors.

Putting design to one side, the issue of security is also one which needs to be addressed. To shop safely from a portable device, it is important for consumers to remember that if their handset is lost or stolen and their e-commerce accounts are still logged in, personal data could be compromised by criminals.