Europeans check bank statements on smartphones, ride the tube reading the financial news on tablets, and pay for coffee with a simple scan of a mobile app. 2012 was an exciting year for Europe, while consumers grew accustomed to using multiple platforms for diverse media activities. Two recent reports, a digital trend report released by comScore, and a mobile watch report by Accenture, have provided analyses 2012’s significant trends of mobile technology and digital consumers across Europe. These reports offer complimenting insight that will help guide payment businesses through the evolution of the digital world, how to adapt, and what trends they can expect to see in future.
Online Growth and Fragmentation of Channels
2012 was a big year for the UK. Key media events such as the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee manifested the growth of digital channels and usage. In terms of devices, comScore reported the EU 5 zone (Germany, UK, Italy, France and Spain) having over 240 million mobile users. Seventy-five percent of acquired devices in December 2012 can be attributed to smartphones. Tablets were also a popular option, passing the tipping point with over 23 million users owning a tablet. Growing popularity of channels such as the tablet allows increased Internet access while affording new opportunities for merchants.
ComScore reported that the British are the most engaged users on the Internet, spending an average of 27 hours per month, with Turkey and the Netherlands close behind. Belgium showed the strongest growth of time spent online amongst consumers, spending two hours longer online than they did the previous year.
How Are They Using These Devices For Banking?
ComScore reported that Dutch are leading the way for online banking, with 66 percent of consumers in the Netherlands using online banking sites. France and Finland were close behind, with high fifty scores. Switzerland came in last, with only about 18 percent of people using online banking. In February 2013, 155 million users across Europe accessed their online bank accounts via PC and spent an average of 35.8 minutes on the site. Overall, the EU has shown an increase in online banking usage, with a growth of 3.2 percent since the last year.
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In the past few years, banks have been responding to digital growth, expanding channels to meet consumer demands. The Accenture survey revealed that 46 percent of respondents have used their mobile phones to conduct bank transactions. As far as mobile payments, 16 percent of respondents currently use their smart phone or tablet, while 39 percent showed interest or plans to use these in the future for payments.
The Accenture survey pursued specifics, asking participants which mobile payment services they were using. Fifty-five percent of consumers use mobile payments to purchase tickets (concerts or cinema), 46 percent towards transportation tickets (train, tram, plane), 39 percent towards fashion (clothes and shoes), 37 percent towards consumer goods, and 22 percent towards groceries.
If the digital world and technology continue to grow at such a speed as it has in the last few years, avenues of opportunity will further expand for businesses and offer better and simpler services for the consumer.
To view the surveys, click here and here.
