Rating: Curiously it’s mostly browser rather than app based traffic
Figures just released by comScore, showing an enormous increase in the number of smartphone users accessing online retail sites – which confirms a trend which GoMo News has long spotted. The figures are for the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain plus the UK). The number of smartphone users accessing online retail sites in the UK has increased by a whopping 163 per cent but Europe as a whole experienced 80 percent over the last year. Across all markets, online retail sites were accessed through a browser by a greater percentage of smartphone owners when compared to app access. Overall some 5.8 per cent of all mobile subscribers (13.5 million users) accessed online retail sites in Q2 2011.Jeremy Copp, comScore Europe’s vp for mobile, warned, “While mobile access offers retailers incremental occasions to engage with customers, it also provides customers the ability to easily compare prices at competing retailers while inside a particular retailer’s store.”
He advised that retailers should get a firm handle on mobile shopping behaviour if they are to effectively navigate this changing environment.
Significantly the UK appears to be leading the way. Across the five main European markets, the UK had the highest penetration for the three mobile retail categories.
Around one in ten mobile users in the UK (or 9.2 percent) accessed online retail sites while some 5.7 per cent accessed shopping guides.
Copp observes that, “Apps, which often provide a more powerful and intuitive interface than browsers, will become increasingly important.”
Apps enjoyed the highest usage in the UK whereas in France, Italy and Spain, browser usage was more pronounced.
This lead Copp to advise that, “With mobile browsers still driving mobile retail activity in Europe, retailers hoping to capitalize on this trend should first look to develop a mobile-optimised website if they haven’t already.”
A more in-depth analysis of comScore figures can be obtained by visiting the company’s news section here.
