The interest in buying through the mobile phone is increasing both in consumers and retailers. A new report by Barclays Corporativa points out that consumer spending through mobile phones and tablets in the United Kingdom will suffer a sharp increase in the coming years, although other research reveals the discomfort of consumers with mobile payment methods.
For 2016, British consumer spending on mobile devices is expected to increase by a healthy 55%, according to research conducted by Barclays Corporativo. In 2021, spending will increase above $ 30.4 billion, or 4.9% of total retail sales, compared to $ 2 billion spent this year.
“Mobile commerce is still a relatively low niche, only 0.5% of total retail spending,” said Richard Lowe, director of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate. “However, with a few virtual stores coming into play, real growth opportunities will increase in the virtual street and retailers who are willing to invest will gain a significant advantage over their competition.”
However, consumers say they continue to feel frustrated with the options available when it comes to paying with mobile. A survey conducted by WorldPay has indicated that the greatest frustration is due to the slowness of the payment process (39%), followed by the amount of information that must be entered (38%).
Other complaints are the lack of website optimization for mobile use (31%), the acceptance of the preferred payment method (17%), and the fact that the application is not available (9%).
The preferred method of payment among consumers is the electronic purse (63%) instead of credit cards (37%) or even payments through a mobile telephone network (14%).
“We have also discovered a community of buyers who prefer to use mobile devices rather than a desktop computer or a laptop – which was very unexpected,” said Gabriel Hopkins, director of e-commerce products at WorldPay. “We have seen the importance of convenience for buyers, who show a clear preference for the electronic wallet and a simple payment experience.”
According to the latest studies of the British Retail Consortium and Google Monitor online retail, the use of mobile phones is driving consumer searches and now accounts for 10% of all searches. The mobile search volume has increased 168% year-over-year in Q3, while searches in the retail desk increased 35%.