An increasing number of people in the major European markets are using their mobile phone to purchase goods, new research has suggested.
ComScore, a company involved in the measuring of the digital world, revealed use of smartphones for such means almost doubled over the past year in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
According to the investigation, one-in-six users accessed online retail sites and apps via their devices in the past 12 months, while one-in-eight owners used their handset to carry out a retail transaction.
Among the most commonly-bought products are clothing, accessories and books, while many favour their handhelds to buy consumer electronics and tickets.
Hesham Al-Jehani, European mobile product manager at comScore, explained the emergence of m-commerce is following on from the surge in popularity of e-commerce seen in recent years.
The industry expert stated: “While smaller screen sizes can be an impediment to people conducting transactions on mobile devices, retailers have responded to the changing consumer environment.”
As such, transaction processes on mobile phones have been simplified, while updates have been made to facilitate purchasing while on-the-go.
