With Direct Commerce’s upcoming October issue dispensing some last-minute yuletide tips and tweaks, this issue of Dart’s data looks ahead to Christmas with a report predicting mobile sales to increase over the festive period.
According to research by IMRG,
the percentage of UK online sales made through a mobile device could
reach one in five (20 percent) by Christmas 2012, with the percentage of
site visits through mobiles expected to be at around one in three (30
percent). The prediction comes after the latest results from the IMRG
Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking Index, which revealed that sales
through mobile devices rose to 11.6 percent in the second quarter of
2012, up from 8.2 percent in the first quarter.
Staying with mobile, a new survey commissioned by mcommerce specialist MoPowered and conducted by online and mobile research agency OnePoll
found that 84 percent of small-to-midsized fashion retailers did not
have a mobile site, but that 89 percent believed mcommerce to be
essential to the future success of their business. The study, which
surveyed 300 managerial professionals, highlights that firms were put
off setting up a mobile optimised site due to security concerns (33
percent concerned about the risk of mobile payments) and the set-up
being too time-consuming (36 percent).
Retailers must tread
carefully when it comes to their mobile strategy to minimise the risk of
customer attrition. Although more than half of the respondents (52
percent) in Strongmail’s
mobile marketing survey said they would be open to receiving
promotional messages via email at least once a week, 60 percent said
they would never want to receive SMS and in-app missives. The report,
conducted by Forrester Consulting,
found that around a third of smartphone users (32 percent) have made a
purchase after receiving a promotional email. However only 6 percent of
smartphone users made a purchase after receiving an SMS or in-app
message.--JD
Showing posts with label m-commerce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label m-commerce. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Monday, 13 August 2012
Dart’s data: the m-commerce issue
Mounting evidence suggests that more and more of us are
shopping online using our mobile phone and yet it is estimated that
two-fifths of UK businesses are failing to collect any mobile data.
According to a study by ecommerce agency Screen Pages mobile devices now account for 20.8 percent of all traffic, more than doubling from 10.3 percent in the past nine months. The research, all based on traffic to websites on the Magento ecommerce platform that have not been optimised for mobile devices, also found that 84.5 percent of all mobile visits are from Apple devices and that iPad usage has increased to 54.9 percent from 46.4 percent. The study also found that iPad shoppers buy more, with an average conversion of 3 percent against 2.8 percent for the websites overall.
But despite this, UK businesses are in danger of missing out on the multibillion pound mobile commerce boom. A report by Experian revealed that at least 40 percent of UK businesses currently fail to collect any mobile data at all. Those that do, take a varied approach to ensuring its accuracy with only 27 percent regularly checking their mobile data--a number lagging well behind the US where more than a third of organisations validate their data regularly.
There’s an app for that…
If you’re embarking on your mobile journey, you’re probably considering whether your brand needs an app. Take heed. According to a report by Webcredible, a user experience agency, UK consumers use only four mobile apps regularly, of which journey planning, searching for locations, booking tickets or finding voucher deals are the most frequently used apps.
The study points out that 40 percent of respondents had used location-sensitive apps from their phones, while 90 percent used their phones to get quick, necessary shopping tasks done when they were commuting. None of the participants said they would make an expensive purchase, such as a laptop or car, on their phones, instead preferring to use a PC to view bigger images and none would engage in grocery shopping from their phones; citing the small screen making the process tedious and time-consuming.
Of the female participants, 90 percent had installed apps that had been recommended to them by friends or family with 100 percent saying they window shop from their phones, but would only rarely buy fashion items, preferring to make these purchases on a PC where they could appreciate details such as fabric and colour. However, 20 percent of respondents said they would buy something from their phones that they had previously seen in-store.
So before jumping on the bandwagon with an app or mobile site, spend time really considering what your customers want to see.--JD
Related articles:
• Online shopping trends around the world
• Dart’s data--the mobile issue
• Half of European smartphone owners shop using their phone
• Why you can’t afford to ignore smartphone users any longer
According to a study by ecommerce agency Screen Pages mobile devices now account for 20.8 percent of all traffic, more than doubling from 10.3 percent in the past nine months. The research, all based on traffic to websites on the Magento ecommerce platform that have not been optimised for mobile devices, also found that 84.5 percent of all mobile visits are from Apple devices and that iPad usage has increased to 54.9 percent from 46.4 percent. The study also found that iPad shoppers buy more, with an average conversion of 3 percent against 2.8 percent for the websites overall.
But despite this, UK businesses are in danger of missing out on the multibillion pound mobile commerce boom. A report by Experian revealed that at least 40 percent of UK businesses currently fail to collect any mobile data at all. Those that do, take a varied approach to ensuring its accuracy with only 27 percent regularly checking their mobile data--a number lagging well behind the US where more than a third of organisations validate their data regularly.
There’s an app for that…
If you’re embarking on your mobile journey, you’re probably considering whether your brand needs an app. Take heed. According to a report by Webcredible, a user experience agency, UK consumers use only four mobile apps regularly, of which journey planning, searching for locations, booking tickets or finding voucher deals are the most frequently used apps.
The study points out that 40 percent of respondents had used location-sensitive apps from their phones, while 90 percent used their phones to get quick, necessary shopping tasks done when they were commuting. None of the participants said they would make an expensive purchase, such as a laptop or car, on their phones, instead preferring to use a PC to view bigger images and none would engage in grocery shopping from their phones; citing the small screen making the process tedious and time-consuming.
Of the female participants, 90 percent had installed apps that had been recommended to them by friends or family with 100 percent saying they window shop from their phones, but would only rarely buy fashion items, preferring to make these purchases on a PC where they could appreciate details such as fabric and colour. However, 20 percent of respondents said they would buy something from their phones that they had previously seen in-store.
So before jumping on the bandwagon with an app or mobile site, spend time really considering what your customers want to see.--JD
Related articles:
• Online shopping trends around the world
• Dart’s data--the mobile issue
• Half of European smartphone owners shop using their phone
• Why you can’t afford to ignore smartphone users any longer
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Dart’s data: the data security issue
This week’s edition takes a look at a study that
highlights how half of companies could be open to data security breaches
as well as a report that shows IT bosses in the retail sector are
worried about the increase in consumerisation of information technology
and how it will lead to greater business risks.
• The latest Adestra/Econsultancy’s Email Marketing Industry Census 2012 report highlights that only 56 percent of client-side respondents and 47 percent of supplier-side respondents say they (or their clients) have policies and processes in place to guard against data security breaches. This is the first time the report included responses to questions on data and worryingly found that 16 percent of companies didn’t even know whether data security measures were in place. Only a quarter of companies are using authenticated login and/or IP restrictions to prevent breaches.
The research, conducted between January and February 2012 among 846 individuals, also reveals that 44 percent of respondents either had no data security policies and processes in place, or were not aware of any, while only 2 percent of respondents ranked data security as one of the three areas they need to focus on most in 2012.
• Results from a study by technology performance firm Compuware Corporation shows that 78 percent of retail sector chief information officers worry that, as consumerisation of IT gathers pace, it will lead to greater business risks. The study of 520 CIOs shows that models such as cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), as well as trends like social media and m-commerce, are driving unrealistic expectations around the role of IT in 74 percent of businesses across the retail sector.--JD
• The latest Adestra/Econsultancy’s Email Marketing Industry Census 2012 report highlights that only 56 percent of client-side respondents and 47 percent of supplier-side respondents say they (or their clients) have policies and processes in place to guard against data security breaches. This is the first time the report included responses to questions on data and worryingly found that 16 percent of companies didn’t even know whether data security measures were in place. Only a quarter of companies are using authenticated login and/or IP restrictions to prevent breaches.
The research, conducted between January and February 2012 among 846 individuals, also reveals that 44 percent of respondents either had no data security policies and processes in place, or were not aware of any, while only 2 percent of respondents ranked data security as one of the three areas they need to focus on most in 2012.
• Results from a study by technology performance firm Compuware Corporation shows that 78 percent of retail sector chief information officers worry that, as consumerisation of IT gathers pace, it will lead to greater business risks. The study of 520 CIOs shows that models such as cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), as well as trends like social media and m-commerce, are driving unrealistic expectations around the role of IT in 74 percent of businesses across the retail sector.--JD
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Dart’s data: the mobile issue
It’s commonly accepted that mobile is becoming an ever more popular shopping channel with consumers, so with this in mind this week’s Dart’s Data takes a look at some interesting reports showing that even though mobile is gaining traction with consumers, not all retailers are jumping on the m-commerce bandwagon.
- A report by the MoBank Group, a specialist in creating systems for mobile transactions, estimates that 80 percent of retailers currently are not supporting m-commerce despite 15 percent of all online traffic coming through the mobile channel. That equates to closing your website for one day a week, suggesting that approximately £10 billion of commerce is being lost each year.
- A report by Juniper Research reveals that the total value of mobile coupons will exceed $43 billion globally by 2016 as coupons are increasingly delivered by mobile apps, an eightfold increase from $5.4 billion in value used in 2011.
- A study by shopping website VoucherCodes.co.uk highlights that 60 percent of consumers would avoid using their mobile as a payment tool, while 17 percent stated they would be interested but would worry about the technology working. The most common reason for avoiding mobile payments was safety (36 percent). Consumers said that they would trust Visa (30 percent), PayPal (20 percent) and MasterCard (18 percent) the most when it comes to handling mobile payments, whereas Apple (6 percent) and Google (4 percent) were at the other end of the scale.
--JD
Monday, 26 September 2011
Four lessons to learn from mobile email
Although our Direct Commerce Buzz newsletter, covering appointment news, client wins and the latest stats, has only been in existence for a couple of months, in that time we’ve been inundated with research into mobile commerce. From the findings that 87 percent of retailers believe mobile commerce will impact shopping in the next two years, but only 16 percent have a mobile strategy in place, to another study that says 11 percent of smartphone owners now shop online via a mobile device on a weekly basis, to the news that 16 percent of emails are viewed on a mobile.
With that in mind, I decided to carry out my own bit of research. I looked several emails I'd received to see how well they render on an iPhone and what lessons could be learned.
Lesson 1: The alternative view
Homeware and apparel cataloguer Orvis realised its email was best viewed on a webmail or desktop device, rather than on a mobile (see below). To help the smartphone user get the most from the email, Orvis included a link to view a mobile version of the email. Unfortunately, the theory was better than the practice.
When I clicked on the “view mobile version” link within the Orvis email I was presented with a text-based page inviting me to add Orvis to my address book, but there was no mention of the other offers. By all means strip down the email so that it loads more quickly, but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater (below).
Lesson 2: The landing page
The Holding Company, a marketer of home storage solutions, did much better. The email fit within my iPhone’s screen and was simple to navigate. I had just three choices: “up to 50% off sale”, “interdesign 50% off” and “multibuy savings”. The buttons were big enough that I could click on them without having to magnify the screen. So far so good.
Where The Holding Company let me down was in the landing page. While its email was clutter-free, the same couldn’t be said for the page I was directed to after clicking “multibuy savings”. A lot of pinching and scrolling was involved to see everything on the page. You know the adage, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”, that’s true for the landing page, so think about it from all angles.
Lesson 3: The fiddly discount code
Entertainment products etailer The Hut did nearly everything right. Although the email was not optimised for mobile, it was still easy to navigate and work out the gist—I haven’t shopped for a while, here’s 10 percent off. The landing page was optimised for mobiles and getting to my desired item was easy.
Armed with my code I was ready to shop. Locating the discount box was stress-free and entering the code would have been easy too, were it not for the fact it is a 14-digit code (12 numbers, 2 dashes). Thank heavens for copy and paste. If possible, think about using more mobile-friendly codes.
Lesson 4: Beware the partial download
If there’s an email in my inbox that doesn’t get read, it’s the email which has only partially downloaded. Take this email from Tesco, for example, it has an enticing subject line: “15% off when you pre-order Harry Potter + £20 off any TomTom sat nav!”, but I’m guessing too many images in this email made my iPhone give up trying to download it all in one go.
When I clicked to download the rest of the message it took nine “flicks” to finally get to the bottom of the email. Perhaps Tesco should consider a “view this on your mobile” option? In any case, if I received this email and I wasn’t connected to Wi-Fi, there’s no way I would spend my 3G allowance on it. You’d have to have a very special bond with a customer to persuade them to spend their money just to open your emails.--MT
With that in mind, I decided to carry out my own bit of research. I looked several emails I'd received to see how well they render on an iPhone and what lessons could be learned.
Lesson 1: The alternative view
Homeware and apparel cataloguer Orvis realised its email was best viewed on a webmail or desktop device, rather than on a mobile (see below). To help the smartphone user get the most from the email, Orvis included a link to view a mobile version of the email. Unfortunately, the theory was better than the practice.
Lesson 2: The landing page
The Holding Company, a marketer of home storage solutions, did much better. The email fit within my iPhone’s screen and was simple to navigate. I had just three choices: “up to 50% off sale”, “interdesign 50% off” and “multibuy savings”. The buttons were big enough that I could click on them without having to magnify the screen. So far so good.
Entertainment products etailer The Hut did nearly everything right. Although the email was not optimised for mobile, it was still easy to navigate and work out the gist—I haven’t shopped for a while, here’s 10 percent off. The landing page was optimised for mobiles and getting to my desired item was easy.
If there’s an email in my inbox that doesn’t get read, it’s the email which has only partially downloaded. Take this email from Tesco, for example, it has an enticing subject line: “15% off when you pre-order Harry Potter + £20 off any TomTom sat nav!”, but I’m guessing too many images in this email made my iPhone give up trying to download it all in one go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
