There is a new purchasing trend that consumers are taking to when it comes to retail shopping – mobile commerce. This holiday season, customers used their smartphones and tablets to browse for and buy products, highlighting the growing importance of the channel.

A study by Payvia revealed that more than half of consumers surveyed (55 percent) stated they planned to purchase items from retailers in 2012 by using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. When it comes to browsing merchants' websites on these gadgets, in 2011, only 18.1 percent of shoppers did so. This year, that figure is forecasted to climb to 28 percent. For the holiday season, Payvia' research expects that one in five purchases will be made through smartphones or tablets.

These numbers highlight the increasing use of mobile for retail shopping, meaning that businesses may want to incorporate the technology to accommodate device-carrying consumers. Payvia suggests that to see success from mobile, companies need to focus on promoting the option to customers. Additionally, providing fast and secure transactions will increase mobile purchasing.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 11:01 am .