Mobile commerce (mCommerce), the purchasing of goods and services via tablet or smartphone, has become a popular option among consumers and is showing a steady rate of growth. Despite its popularity, though, consumers believe that merchants can improve on the experience.
In a recent joint study conducted by uSamp (a market research firm) and iModerate (a qualitative research company), customers pointed towards improving their shopping experience through content prioritization and explaining security measures as two areas where vendors of goods and services could do a better job.
“The landscape for shopping has changed with the introduction of mobile devices and the tremendous convenience they offer,” said Adam Rossow, Partner and Head of Marketing at iModerate. “They love being able to shop anytime, anywhere, but they want the shopping experience to be functional, seamless and easy.”
The study also found that purchasing behaviors and how well a product is presented on any given device are directly related. Device functionality played a direct role with screen and keyboard size being primary concerns. Those surveyed preferred product images that are clear and easy to view in order to eliminate “pinching” to improve the look of the product. They also suggested streamlined pages displaying only pertinent details to eliminate crowding and to speed up download times.
There are, however, lingering concerns regarding the transmission of financial information over mobile devices, and those who participated in the study would like greater transparency through recognizable and credible processes when it comes to safeguarding this information.
Data from the study also showed that while consumers followed certain patterns when it came to goods and services purchased with mobile devices, they were most comfortable when costs for any given purchase did not exceed $400 to $500.
References:
Fallon, Nicole. “What Consumers Really Want from Mobile Commerce,” Business News Daily. Aug. 1, 2013.
Rossow, Adam. “New Study Details the Role of mCommerce in the New Shopping Landscape,” iModerate.com. July 29, 2013.
mCommerce. “Marketplace Insights Survey“.
