Mobile commerce continues to boom in the UK with every fifth online purchase and every thirdwebsite visit to be made via mobile devices by Christmas 2012, the British e-retail association
IMRG predicted.According to the latest results of the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking Index, 20% of alldigital commerce transactions and 30% of website visits in the UK will be completed on mobiledevices by this year’s peak Christmas period.
During the second quarter of 2012, which the index counts from May to July, shopping via mobiledevices rose to 11.6%, up from 8.2% in the first quarter running from February to April.
Since the beginning of 2010, m-retail sales have experienced dramatic growth of 2,900%.Accounting for only 0.4% of the total retail sales in Q1 2010, they reached 11.6% in the lastquarter while website visits via mobile tools rose to 21.1% during the same period, up from 16.4%in the previous quarter.
The research further revealed an increase in the visitor bounce rate to 29% for the secondquarter which is the highest in two and a half years tracked by the index. This means thatconsumers compare and browse across multiple websites before completing a purchase. IMRG explainedthat they are becoming “ever-more demanding when it comes to initial site engagement” as theaverage bounce rated was 22% in 2010 and 24% in 2011.
Even though the overall level of basket abandonment remains high, the average rate fell to 55%in Q2 compared to 61% in 2010, 60% in 2011 and 58% year-to-date in 2012.
Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, said: “While the share of online sales goingthrough mobile devices continues to grow impressively, the actual final conversion side of it isonly part of the story. Mobile has placed retailers, symbolically perhaps, in the palms ofconsumers’ hands, removing many former borders and expanding the contexts and times that engagementcan happen.”
Chris Webster, VP / Consumer Products and Retail at Capgemini, commented: “The second decade ofthis century will be viewed in history as the decade when the mobile device became the point ofaccess to digital services. The mobile device will be the must-have item when you leave the house;just imagine when your passport and driving licence can also be held (or accessed) through thedevice. One final hurdle to clear: what happens when the battery goes flat?”
