Member Article

UK needs to catch up in mobile sales

Online sellers are being urged to push sales through mobile phones and tablets in the UK.

E-commerce marketplace Rakuten, which is based in Tokyo, found that Europe and the U.S are far behind Eastern parts of the world in mobile, or “m-commerce” sales.

Consumers in Thailand are the top users of mobile technology for shopping, as 35% said they used a tablet device to buy online.

The UK is far behind other countries, as only 8% of British people were happy to shop using a mobile device, in comparison with 15% of Indonesians and 13% of people from Thailand.

The main concern for consumers in the UK is security, according to Rakuten which owns entertainment and electronic online store, Play.com, after 27% of respondents said they were worried about how safe it was to shop on a mobile phone or tablet.

Despite tablet sales growing rapidly in Western Europe, with increases of 142% in the UK market, shopping through the popular device is still a concern.

Play.com’s marketing director, Adam Stewart, has encouraged businesses to try to convert online browsers into buyers.

He said: “At Rakuten’s Play.com we have seen a nearly 120% increase in traffic from mobile and tablet devices over the last 12 months; however there is still a gap between browsing and buying that we need to bridge.

“As an industry we need to build consumer confidence in mobile shopping platforms, by refining the shopping experience online, offering more mobile tailored offers to incentivise purchase and ensure mobile payments are secure, smooth and hassle free.”

Recommendations through social media are also more popular in the East, as shoppers in Indonesia and Thailand are three times more likely to suggest products through an online platform than their Western counterparts.

Rakuten’s Play.com said consumers that are engaged with social media are much more valuable, and worth 24% more in terms of sales than someone who is a “non fan” on sharing sites.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .