TechWeekEurope asked its readers for feedback on last year’s Christmas shopping. With mobile commerce predicted as one of the biggest trends in retail in the coming months it was surprising to find that very few Europeans trust their smartphone to shop.
While many seemed to have shun Christmas altogether, the rest preferred to shop on the high street and online retailers. The most popular answer for where readers bought most of their presents was ordering online via Amazon. Mobile shopping was only reserved to 10% of respondents.
With such high smartphone penetration rates in Europe, mobile commerce has an enormous potential in the country. In most European countries, online commerce is already well established and continues to grow year on year.
Just this December the British Retail Consortium recorded a 17,8% increase in online sales in the UK in December. While high street consumption numbers were low, the online sector held the Christmas shopping season together. “Online was the stand-out performer, showing its highest rate of growth this year. Shoppers are increasingly taking advantage of the convenience that online shopping offers at every stage of the customer journey, from comparing prices to reserving and collecting in-store”, commented Helen Dickinson, Director General, British Retail Consortium.
For mobile commerce to follow the lead of online commerce, both retailers and mobile carriers will need to work together to convince European shoppers.
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