Europe seeing a rise in mobile payments for retail
Europeans are increasingly using their smartphones to make mobile payments at retailers across the continent, as the new purchasing trend begins to become widespread in global commerce. Mobile devices can now be used for a variety of different tasks, including completing transactions at retail stores, and the traditional purchasing method is getting a makeover, as are retail store operations.
Europe turning to mobile purchasing
According to recent research by comScore, consumers in five major countries – France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Italy – are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to make purchases from online retail websites. One in eight smartphone users have utilized their devices to complete transactions with retailers, and one in six have visited retail sites and applications on their phones. These numbers are a significant increase from 2011, when the numbers of users was half the amount it is today. In May of this year, 75 percent of consumers who had accessed retail sites with their devices ended up making a purchase from the company.
"We are now observing a rapid increase in the emergence of m-commerce, where consumers visit retail sites or use dedicated apps and ultimately make on-device purchases,” said comScore's European mobile product manager Hesham Al-Jehani.
Retailers are in turn responding to shoppers and their mobile needs. ComScore found that Spain has the most growth in mobile retail commerce. In the past year, there has been a 141 percent increase in the number of smartphone users who access sites and apps on their phones, which is currently estimated at 1.9 million. The U.K. ranks highest in regard to the largest number of mobile users, with a total of 6.5 million. Germany comes in second at 5.8 million, states the research.
Retail mobile payments to increase in Europe
The recent numbers highlight the growing significance that the trend of mobile payments is currently and will continue to play in the retail industry. The Information Daily reports that recent research from Forrester estimates that mobile spending in Europe will increase elevenfold by 2017. This equals a total of €19.2 billion ($23.6 billion) within five years. In 2011, approximately €1.7 billion ($2 billion) was spent through retail mobile purchases, which equals 1 percent of total online sales. Mobile payments in Europe will account for 6.8 percent of sales by 2017.
