Using your smart phone to do the Christmas shopping has become more popular than ever! Research has revealed that almost nine out of 10 shoppers use their mobile device when Christmas shopping.According to research by mobile commerce firm Weve; 88% of smartphone owners used their mobile as part of their Christmas shopping in 2015, with each user spending £250.00 on average, meaning almost £4 billion was spent on mobiles around last Christmas!
Nigel Clarkson, commercial director at Weve, said:
“The truth is that however big the 2013 mobile spree was, we are only just starting to see the real power of mobile, but the £245 figure surprised us and will give us a benchmark to check the increase in early 2017. One thing is certain: as the industry prepares for Christmas 2014, mobile Christmases are only going to get bigger and more sophisticated.”
The news come as all major smartphone brands announce and release their latest range of new devices, with Apple also announcing a new payment system called Apple Pay, which will enable users to make purchases in-store by tapping their mobile against a paypoint.
The technology used, which will become active in early 2015, is called Near-Field Communication and is already used in some Android phones.
It makes redundant the need for a card and pin entry, with encrypted payment methods stored on your smartphone going directly to the merchant when triggered at the till point.
Weve’s research found that while half of those they surveyed used a smartphone to make a purchase, 70% of those also used the web on their mobile device in order to find inspiration for their gift buying.
Only 21% of those asked used a specific app with the majority preferring to use the wider web to do their searching and shopping. 64% also said they price compare on their smart device while in store! Mr Clarkson believes that companies should listen to the public interest and give customers more opportunities to shop on mobile.
“There’s clearly a huge opportunity for companies to engage with consumers via mobile this Christmas, but there’s a danger for them too”
“Great mobile campaigns don’t happen by accident; if you are not mobile friendly, you will have missed the consumer, both in terms of awareness, research and purchase.”
More than 3,700 smartphone owners were surveyed in January 2014
