• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, January 16, 2014

Holiday shopping on mobile devices may have set some records, but it looks like many sales were lost and plenty of money was left on the table.

While mobile accounted for about 17% of online holiday sales, based on IBM tracking, those lost were equivalent to more than a quarter (27%) of total mobile commerce sales, according to a holiday season mobile shopping analysis by Jumio.

About $16 billion was left on the table by retailers in the form of lost sales, according to the Jumio report, which cited the following reasons shoppers bailed on mobile transactions:

• 51% -- Didn’t feel safe entering their credit card information
• 47% -- Checkout process took too long
• 41% -- Checkout was too difficult on their device
• 23% -- Purchase would not go through

It’s no surprise that credit card security as at the top of the list, especially with the Target credit issue receiving so many headlines. The idea of using a phone to transmit credit information also is a new behavior not yet engrained in consumer habits.

In addition to revenue lost because of payment friction at checkout, retailers risk losing money on future purchases, with more than half (63%) of consumers less likely to buy from the same company via other purchase channels after abandoning a poor-experience mobile transaction, according to the recent Harris poll.

There are multiple elements that comprise the mobile payments picture. Technically being able to pay with a phone is just one component.

Security, ease of use, trust in the payment provider, trust in the actual transaction, speed of transactions and continued positive experiences are all part of the mobile payment mix.

We’re still early on the road to friction-free mobile payments.