Shades of the Mobile Experience
With the announcement that the number of mobile users has reached 5 billion, the mobile device's viability as an online access point is beyond dispute. It will never be used as a work tool similar to the laptop or PC, as attempting to spend regular hours working at a mobile interface would not be ergonomically feasible, but for short process based business and personal interactions it seems to be made for it.
Searching for information or accessing byte-sized learning or secure banking sites are a few of the tasks the mobile phone arguably can do with less hassle than a PC or laptop. The advent of smart phones, and the range of applications that work regardless of operating system, has also driven leisure activities such as gaming and event planning.
A US-based survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that 59% of US users now go online using mobile communications. This includes laptops as well as cell phones. And there seems massive room for growth in some areas, as the same survey finds that only 11% of cell phone users purchased a product online.
In the UK, a report in the Retail Bulletin concurs with this and finds that 64% of mobile users in the UK do not use their mobile phones to shop. The interesting statistic here is that 85% of non-smart phone owners said they don't use their phone to help them shop online, while only 19% of smart phone owners said they never use their phone to help them shop.
Helping users shop may not be related directly to online purchases, but in stead may involve reading product reviews and ratings, comparing prices and searching for the nearest store. Clearly the success of mobile commerce is down to the experience offered by the mobile device and the product information available, including the opinions of other consumers. The ability to actually purchase online is a key part in a wider jigsaw.
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