Mobile Commerce – £1.3bn Boost?

With mobile commerce predicted to be worth £19 billion by 2021, eBay are calling for Ofcom (the regulatory authority for the telecommunications in the UK) to address the needs of mobile shoppers.

Commissioned by eBay, Verdict (retail expert) has conducted detailed research and discovered UK Retailers are missing out on at least £1.3bn as a result of difficulties when shopping on their mobile phones.

More than a third of mobile shoppers have failed to complete a purchase due to mobile broadband issues, and surprisingly these are not just in usual suspect areas like the Outer Hebrides or rural Scotland, but in some high population areas like west London and Swansea!

The most popular reasons for abandoned mobile shopping was poor network coverage, unreliable connections and slow connection speeds; poor coverage being the biggest stumbling block to the emerging M-Commerce market.

Currently, 16% of the UK is a ‘not-spot’ zone, where mobile commerce spending is at least 20% below the national average. eBay, Britain’s market leader in M-Commerce, will be submitting this research to call on policy-makers to do more for mobile shoppers when rules for the fourth generation (4G) of mobile networks are agreed later this year.

MP Rory Stewart, a leading campaigner for mobile broadband confirmed the importance of M-Commerce “Growth in Britain is going to come from small businesses and it will be driven by mobile broadband. In rural areas, our businesses depend upon online activities, e-commerce and increasingly eBay and m-commerce.”

With this added support from MP Rory Stewart, and eBay’s efforts for stronger mobile commerce in the UK, M-Commerce is going to be a hot topic of 2011.

Hot Facts:

Mobile Commerce is set to be worth £19bn by 2021
eBay calls on Ofcom to address consumer frustrations
Mobile continues to be the fastest growing part of eBay’s business, with global mobile sales set to double to over $4 bn in 2011
16% of the UK is a mobile ‘not-spot’ zone
Globally an item is bought on eBay through the eBay mobile app every 2 seconds
There are up to 380,000 daily visits to eBay.co.uk via mobile apps

What do I need to do as a business?

Keep up to date with the latest consumer buying habits
Ensure your online websites are ‘mobile browser friendly’
If your website is mobile friendly, let your clients know!
Not only will this show you’re up to date and generate a positive brand experience, but with this increased accessibility and client confidence, this will help increase sales.
Consider the use of Apps to enrich your clients shopping experience with you