A survey spanning 22,000 consumers across all age groups found that 80% of consumers have shopped on their smartphones. The rise of M-commerce, or mobile commerce, has made it faster and easier to make purchases.
Buyer regret also rises, with more people returning the products they purchase online compared to when a purchase is made in a traditional retail setting.
The study, which was commissioned by payment processor PayPal, found that only 63% of businesses are optimized for mobile payments. Consumers that are transitioning to mobile purchases will not be able to shop at these businesses and will often go to a competitor.
PayPal claims that businesses need to optimize the experience if they hope to attract younger, Gen Z and Gen Y consumers.
Over 20% of consumers that opt to abandon their shopping carts do so because the platform does not offer their preferred method of payment.
Digital spending is on the rise, too. Mobile advertising accounted for 63% of all digital ad revenues in 2018. The rise in ad spending makes it even more critical for businesses to accept mobile payments and optimize their website for mobile.
Prioritizing the mobile experience can lead to more online sales and less cart abandonment.
Women are leading the mobile shopping trend, with 48% of women preferring mobile over traditional shopping. Only 39% of men prefer mobile shopping. Men are also more likely to make mobile purchases when at work than women who prefer to concentrate on their work rather than shop.
India is leading the M-commerce trend, with 70% of consumers in the country preferring to shop on their mobile devices. Nearly 80% of Indian merchants have also adopted mobile technology and optimized their platforms for mobile purchases.
Security remains a major concern for mobile shoppers, with 51% of people globally claiming that they’re less likely to make a purchase on mobile due to security concerns. The countries where consumers are more concerned about security are the UK at 64%, Australia at 63% and the United States at 58%.
Merchants are also reluctant to switch to M-commerce due to security fears.
Mobile phone purchases include everything from home goods to clothes and tickets to events. The massive ad spending on mobile may not be as beneficial as once thought, with over 50% of consumers claiming they did not purchase an item they saw on a mobile ad.
Even when shopping in retail stores, 61% of consumers believe it’s important to have a mobile phone to check prices and reviews.
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