M-commerce viewed by 25,000 e-shoppers surveyed in the UK and France by Yuseo

Mobile channel is considered by many as the new digital revolution proposing significant potential in terms of customer relations, sales and advertising. With growth rates strongly resembling “e-commerce” at its inception, « mobile » market induces strong expectations and anticipation. Facing such potential, numerous retailers need to position themselves on issues such as developing a dedicated m-commerce Apps or adapting their web site for this channel. Where does the market stand today in terms of cyber consumers actually purchasing via their mobile and their expectations?

At the core of the digital omnichannel customer experience, Yuseo ran a survey involving more than 13,000 cyber buyers in Great Britain (January 2012) as well as 12,000 in France (March 2012) focusing on their feedback on the mobile channel and their purchases. As of today, it appears that 87% of the UK cyber consumers - and 87,5% in France - have never purchased via their mobile.

The Mobile and the “digital” purchase
Lately, IMRG confirmed  “the mobile commerce market increased by 254 per cent year-on-year in March 2012 and achieved average growth of 300 per cent for the first quarter; mobile conversion rate reached 1.4 per cent in the first three months of this year”.

YUSEO’s survey results, involving only cyber consumers in the UK (13,000 in January 2012) and in France (12,000 in March 2012) on the « actual use » of mobiles to purchase, put these comments into a broader perspective. As of today, only 13% of the British cyber consumers use their mobile to purchase goods or services, compared to 12.5% in France.

More specifically, within the 23 – 29 years old UK cyber consumers population, the survey shows – somehow with little surprise – that 26% of them use their mobile to purchase goods or services.

In terms of the nature of the purchase, the results illustrate some differences between the 2 markets likely to be linked to the way m-commerce has been pushed so far: {{for the British cyber consumers who already “tested” m-commerce, 76% of them have purchased goods Vs 66% in France.}} However, “only” 40 % of the UK cyber buyers have purchased Services in comparison with 53% in France.

When looking into the short term growth penetration potential, differences between the 2 countries are limited: for cyber buyers who never tested m-commerce as of today, 72% in the UK – and 65 % in France – declared being likely to try on a short term basis.

Impact on the brand image, which channel for which purpose?

The maturity of the British market in terms of Digital-commerce tends to support the cyber consumers perception toward Mobile Applications. For UK cyber buyers who already tested m-commerce, 52 % considers that a mobile Apps has a positive impact on the brand image VS only 22% in France. Therefore, 32 % of UK cyber consumers who already purchased via their Mobile prefer doing it via a dedicated Mobile Apps Vs only 12% in France.

Finally, on both sides of the Channel, online buyers are consistent regarding the use of Mobiles to compare goods prior purchasing them in a shop (20 % in the UK and 18% in France).

Yuseo– specialised in digital omnichannel customer experience Usability and Utility meet Marketing
Leader in France in the digital User Experience surveys, Yuseo has dedicated itself for 11 years in managing customer behavioural studies to deliver hands-on recommendations on different interfaces (Internet, Tablets, Software, Cell Phones …) in projects with significant international exposure (Europe, USA, Japan, China).

Awarded in the DELOITTE EMEA «Technology Fast 500», Yuseo offers a unique positioning based on its proprietary online behavioural analysis tools (WebBehave and Yuscard) developed by its in house R&D team to deliver a relevant and actionable measure of the customer experience. Introduced in 2005, such qualified and quantitative measure of the online customer journeys enables to prioritise the drawbacks directly impacting the satisfaction, image and attractiveness of the site.