Europeans Ready for mCommerce

I tried to check something today at the Radio Shack Website using my Samsung Android phone, but alas, Radio Shack has not yet set up an mCommerce version, so navigating the site was a miserable experience. Get with the program!

According to a recent report commissioned by technology provider Akamai and conducted by analyst firm IDC, that's exactly what Europeans are gettting ready to do. Reviewing the report, Catalogue & eBusiness notes "at least one in ten of the European consumers surveyed had already used a mobile phone for retail search, price comparison or online purchasing, with a further 20 percent of respondents planning to do so in the 'short-term.' The second-most cited reason for shoppers using their mobile phones--after checking the status of an order--was searching for store locations, opening hours, and product availability. Receiving alerts about promotions offered by stores nearby ranked third."

The study was based on input from 1,500 consumers in France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.  "When asked what the most influential factor was in their online purchasing decisions, 76 percent of Europeans said a website's ease of use. A close second, cited by 71 percent of respondents, was assurance of payment security, with the Spanish particularly concerned with security online," reports C&eB.