Clothing top purchase by Europeans on their mobile devices
Shoppers across Europe are buying more clothing on their mobile devices than any other product, according to new research.
Conducted by Ipsos, the ING International Survey on Mobile Banking found that 35% of the 10,000 shoppers surveyed who owned a smartphone or tablet said they had used their handheld devices to busy fashion items in the hope that they fit.
Electronics and gaming products were found to be the next most popular purchases among mobile shoppers at 32% and 19% respectively. These were followed by groceries (17%), music (16%) and holidays (16%).
The study also found that 55% of mobile shoppers were more inclined to buy from stores that saved their payment details.
With 58% of consumers who owned a smartphone or mobile saying they had used it to buy goods or services in the last 12 months, the biggest percentages came from Turkey (84%), Poland (64%) and Romania (62%), reflecting the younger populations in these countries. Conversely, uptake was found to be slowest in Belgium (37%) and the Netherlands (42%), where populations are older.
While mobile shopping was shown to be most prevalent amongst mobile device owners aged between 25 and 34 with 74% of those polled claiming to shop on the devices, 37% of those aged over 55 years with a smartphone or tablet said they were using them to shop online.
Some 61% of men with mobile devices said they used them to shop, compared to 54% of women. While female shoppers were most likely to purchase clothing, men were found to prefer to buy electronics. Men were also shown to be the most likely to buy a holiday using their mobile device.
The report found that those who bank using a smartphone or tablet were more likely to be mobile shoppers. Some 79% of those questioned said they had bought an item using their mobile device in the last year, compared with 34% of non-mobile bankers.
ING senior economist Ian Bright said: “Mobile devices are revolutionising the way we manage money. Across Europe it is becoming common for people to shop using a mobile device, and ‘one-click-hope-it-fits’ technology is making it even easier than ever for consumers to get what they want, especially when it comes to retail.
“The increasing acceptance of mobile shopping and mobile payments is contributing to cash being used less often. Some could eventually say goodbye to cash for good.”
