Lightspeed Research has released the results of its survey of 1000 Britons to evaluate the likely take up of mobile internet shopping. With mobile phone penetration higher than that of PCs, shopping from the mobile phone has the potential to be the next big thing in retail.
The survey results indicated a positive response to the idea, with 17% of respondents saying they would be willing to buy products and services through their phone, and men more in favour of the idea (22% versus 12%). This figure was higher than respondents in France (9%) but lower than in Germany (25%).
As with online retail, which took time to increase in popularity, this research suggests there is a good basis for the growth of shopping through mobiles, especially as more retailers begin to offer the service. Of those who were receptive to the idea of shopping from their mobile handsets, more than three quarters of respondents said they would shop with well-known high street and online retailers
As regards to what people would buy online, two of the top three choices were ‘on the go’ type products with film, theatre and events tickets coming in second and travel tickets the third choice. With many people carrying their mobile phone all the time the ability to order entertainment and travel tickets from their handset offers a significant advantage over PC shopping. Other products selected by our respondents included DVDs and CDs at the top of the list at 73% and books and travel both at 55%. 48% of our panellists would buy flowers. Clothes, food and toiletries were the least popular choices.
So there you have it, some interesting data – showing that a not-insignificant amount people can see the value of shopping by Mobile for certain products – especially those that might involve an impulse decision, based on specific time & location (e.g. cinema tickets if you want to see a film later). If service providers / operators can start to roll-out LBS-based advertising for those location-sensitive promotions, I could see the 17% figure shooting up – what do you, the readers, think?
If you would like to download a copy of the full report, you can do so here.