French Consumers Fall Behind In Mobile Commerce

By Chanel Smith (@PYMNTS_EMEA)

Consumers from the UK and the U.S. have a budding interest in mobile shopping, but other European countries have yet to display equal enthusiasm—specifically those in France.

A new study indicates that the French market is the most underdeveloped in Europe in terms of mobile commerce, and for several reasons. According to July 2013 research commissioned by RetailMeNot.com and Ipsos Public Affairs, nearly 10 percent of British consumers reported making purchases on a mobile device, which is comparably high next to countries such as Germany (6 percent), Italy (4 percent) and the Netherlands (4 percent). Mobile commerce levels in France were exceptionally low, with only 2 percent of respondents shopping via mobile technology. Does the study’s result suggest that digital purchases are not popular, or is this a matter of the medium?

Firstly, it is important to note that in many European nations, nearly 30 percent of the country’s Internet users said that they actively research products on their mobile device (Sweden 36 percent, UK 33 percent, Germany 33 percent, Italy 31 percent, Netherlands 26 percent). However, France came at the bottom of the list again, with a mere 17 percent of participants claiming to have used mobile technology for product research.

Additionally, only 4 percent of French consumers said they’ve downloaded and used mobile applications created by retailers. This figure is relatively low when compared to 13 percent in Germany and 20 percent in the UK.

The survey shows that 70 percent of Internet users in France admitted they have never used a mobile phone to conduct any of the six mobile shopping activities prompted in the survey. Surprisingly, some even said they did not own a mobile phone.

EMarketer reported that these low figures suggest that French consumers are more likely to make online purchases via personal computers and laptops. The article notes that the report makes no indication that online shopping is not popular in France. However, mobile shopping is still facing slow adoption.

To read the full study at eMarketer click here.