World: m-commerce grows threefold over general ecommerce - report

From 2013 to 2016, the multi-country average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for mobile commerce is projected at 42% versus 13% for overall ecommerce (including mobile commerce), according to research issued by PayPal in collaboration with the market research company Ipsos.

Mobile payment volume has grown significantly from 2011 and. currently,mobile accounts for 20% of its overall purchase volume worldwide, from 1% in 2010. In the US, mobile commerce is anticipated to grow from USD 54.6 million in 2014 to USD 96.3 million in 2016. Compared to the roughly 9% - 11% y-o-y increase in ecommerce, m-commerce in the US has a projected growth rate of 26% to 32% each year through 2016. Globally, mobile commerce is estimated to grow from roughly USD 102 billion in 2013 to roughly USD 291 billion in 2016.

In the UAE, mobile shopping makes up for 24% of overall online spending. In China, that number is 21% and Turkey is on the third place, at 19%. In terms of smartphone-shopping density, more than 68% of Chinese online consumers said they have used their mobile devices to make purchases on a smartphone in 2014. The number is only slightly lower for UAE shoppers, at 57%, and 53% for Turkish consumers. In the US, 31% of consumers report that they have used their smartphones to shop in the past 12 months.

Overall, a third of online shoppers surveyed said they have used their smartphone for making an online purchase in the past 12 months. The increase in mobile shopping is being driven by smartphone shoppers between the ages of 18-34 (59% of smartphone shoppers in that age bracket reported using mobile to shop online). When comparing individual companies to the overall global average of 33%, the US figures report 31%, placing the US behind the UK (33%), France (36%), Spain (34%), Switzerland (32%), Russia (34%), Israel (37%), Turkey (53%), Ukraine (57%), Brazil (34%), Mexico (46%), Australia (33%) and China (68%).

Globally, 64% of smartphone users reported using an app for purchases as opposed to the 52% who used mobile browsers. The reasons cited for that are convenience and speed. Convenience was cited by 35% of users and speed by 30%. Instant payment confirmation and having a reminder in the app to use discounts or coupons were two other major reasons cited by those surveyed.

In terms of actual mobile shopping behaviors today, 36% of consumers say they use mobile to get info on a product, 27% use mobile to find a business and 25% use devices to read reviews on particular stores or products. But consumers revealed that, in the future, they are interested in using their smartphones for more mobile-centric tasks. For example, consumers said that they would be interested in using tap and pay at the register with their smartphone (16%), mobile ordering through app or browser (15%), and to compare prices while shopping in stores (14%). PayPal’s research, in conjunction with Ipsos, examined the mobile commerce habits of 17,600 consumers in 22 countries.