"Mobile internet sits at the heart of many of our customer’s lives" Sienne Veit, Social and Mobile Commerce Development Manager, M&S Direct
A survey commissioned by AIME, IAB and IMRG shows that 41% of UK retail brands expect to have a transactional mobile site or application within the next year
Too few retailers have a solid mobile presence today, however, 41% plan to have a transactional mobile site or application in place within the next year, according to the results from a new research partnership between the Association for Interactive Media and Entertainment (AIME), the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). The study found that while mobile commerce is still very much at the consideration stage, the majority of retailers surveyed expect mobile commerce to be part of their main strategy within the next 12 months.
eDigital Research, commissioned by AIME, the IAB and the IMRG surveyed 140 marketing professionals from the retail, advertising and mobile service provider sectors in the UK to understand attitudes, behaviours and perceived challenges to mobile commerce. Over half (59%) of the senior-level representatives from UK retail brands that took part expected their mobile revenues to increase over the next 12 months, and 94% saw it as a real opportunity for their business.
More retailers need to follow their audiences on mobile
The research highlights the need for retailers to move faster to keep with the consumers already seeking out retail websites via their mobile phones. Each month in the UK, a staggering 4.2 million consumers are visiting retailers’ websites using the mobile internet (GSMA and comScore, 2010).
However, just four out of the top 20 most frequently visited retailer websites are presently optimised for mobile, and only eight of the top 20 have any kind of mobile application for smartphones like the iPhone, Blackberry or Android powered devices. This means that many retailers could be missing out on additional revenues from the ready and willing mobile consumer traffic to their sites.
In response to the research, Sienne Veit, Social and Mobile Commerce Development Manager at M&S Direct said: “Mobile internet sits at the heart of many of our customer’s lives, and we’ve invested significant resource to ensuring that their mobile experience is as straightforward and rewarding as possible. This research from AIME, the IAB and IMRG highlights how emerging mobile media looks set to play a much stronger role in UK commerce, and for us as retailers it’s been essential to establish a solid mobile presence to fully complement the evolving customer journey.”
Whilst most retailers believe their mobile revenues will increase over the next few years, currently around 63% either make less than 1% of their total revenues via mobile, or don’t measure their mobile revenues at all at present, citing a lack of knowledge and expertise about the mobile platform. However, the research found that over half (59%) of the senior-level representatives from UK retail brands that took part in the survey, expected their mobile revenues to increase over the next 12 months, and 94% saw it as a real opportunity for their business.
Andrew McClelland, Director of Operations at IMRG said: “Consumers are once again driving demand for a new, convenient shopping channel, just as they did in the early days of online retailing. This time around, the cultural shift required for retailers to recognise this demand is much smaller and in many cases requires the optimisation of an existing web presence rather than a ‘ground-up’ development of a new technology. However, there is a thirst for knowledge with in the retail sector to best understand how a mobile channel fits with their customer proposition.”
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