10million UK consumers use mCommerce but most experience problems
A recent survey reveals 10million online consumers in the UK made a transaction using a mobile device in the last year. However, 83% of those consumers experienced problems when conducting their mobile transactions.
The survey was commissioned by Tealeaf, a provider of online customer experience management (CEM) software, and conducted online by Harris Interactive.
Tealeaf’s research demonstrates that, as smartphone adoption grows, consumers are increasingly expecting a faultless experience across all online channels, including mobile, with 75% of all online adults agreeing there is no reason why a mobile transaction can’t be completed on the first try. This has a significant impact for brands, with 66% saying, if they experienced a problem conducting a mobile transaction, they would be less likely to buy from the same company via other purchase channels.
While shopping is the most popular mcommerce activity (63%), mobile savvy consumers are also using mobile devices to conduct financial transactions (37%), travel bookings (34%) and insurance payments or purchases (23%). On average, mobile shoppers completed 4.4 transactions on a mobile device per month, with consumers evenly split over whether they prefer to conduct transactions using an app (43%) or an internet browser (41%).
Despite mcommerce being a relatively new retail channel, the simplicity and user-friendliness of mobile devices such as the iPhone means that consumer expectations are high. Just over half of British adults who have conducted a mobile transaction in the past year said they expect a better shopping experience on a mobile device compared to purchasing in-store (51%) or online using a computer (52%). Among the problems experienced were error messages (34%) and navigation difficulties (24%).
As with other online channels, if things do go wrong, the Tealeaf research shows consumers are impatient: when asked how they would react after experiencing a problem, 30% of British adults who have experienced mobile commerce problems in the last year said they would abandon the transaction on their mobile device and try again later on a computer, 13% would switch to a competitor’s app or website, and nearly one in ten (9%) would vow never to conduct a mobile transaction ever again. Just under a quarter (23%) said they would call customer service and 58% of all British adults who have conducted a mobile transaction in the past year said if they did, they would expect the agent to have visibility into what they were attempting to do on the app or mobile webpage.
When consumers have problems with mobile transactions, they do not keep their experience to themselves. More than four in five adults who experience problems conducting mobile transactions (86%) said they have shared their mobile transaction experience with others and 49% of these said they had shared experiences via social media. When those who experience problems complain on social networks, 27% said they would expect a response from the vendor. Among all mobile shoppers who experience problems, 61% said they would tell their friends and family about it to discourage them from using that app/website or doing business with the company.
“Everyone talks about the momentum in the mobile channel and customers continue to show an increasing appetite for carrying out transactions on these devices,” said Geoff Galat, CMO of Tealeaf. “The research shows consumers are increasingly expecting the same high levels of customer experience they would on other online channels. But, at present, mobile consumers find the convenience of transacting anywhere is offset by unsatisfying and unproductive experiences. Mobile consumers are no more willing to tolerate poor experiences than customers accessing websites from their desktops.”
