Study reveals importance of m-commerce in 2011

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 11:38 by Simon Crisp

A report, published by RichRelevance, has indicated that UK consumers are increasingly reliant on their mobile devices in order to carry out safe shopping online, with 2011 being a bumper year for portable e-commerce platforms.

RichRelevance has concurred with a number of other companies in finding that the online shopping boom which preceded the Christmas period last year was particularly packed with people buying things from their smartphones and tablets.

It is estimated that 25 per cent of all online purchases were made from portable gadgets in the weeks leading up to the festive season. Smartphones were accountable for around eight per cent of the total e-commerce market in December 2011.

It is perhaps unsurprising that Apple seemed once again to be the king of safe shopping online in this study, with a definitive 97 per cent of transactions taking place on a gadget running its iOS operating system. This includes the iPad tablet, as well as the iPhone range of smartphones and even the iPod Touch portable media player, which can get online as easily as its peers.

RichRelevance spokesperson, Darren Hitchcock, said that many retailers and businesses in the UK were beginning to prioritise m-commerce development because of the clear indications that this is becoming an important way to engage with consumers.

Mr Hitchcock explained that people with smartphones were looking for consistency when it comes to the m-commerce platforms they encounter. This essentially means that mobile sites and desktop sites must be able to offer equivalent levels of service, so as not to turn away potential customers.

While 2011 was doubtlessly an important year for m-commerce customers, the level of service anticipated by UK consumers will soar in 2012, as more and more people invest in smartphones and tablets this year.