Commentary

Holiday Mobile Shopping & the Money Not Spent

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.

2 comments about "Holiday Mobile Shopping & the Money Not Spent ".
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  1. Carissa Ganelli from LightningBuy, January 16, 2014 at 7:41 p.m.

    Chuck, this is the best titled article I've ever seen on mobile commerce. The stats are consistent with findings from our analysis of the top 100 Internet Retailers in which the average number of clicks to complete a purchase in a mobile shopping cart is 5 and the average number of screens is 9 - far too long for consumers who expect 1-3 second load times and instant gratification. Thanks for always reporting on every angle of a topic - not only the most positive.

  2. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, January 16, 2014 at 8:03 p.m.

    Thank you Carissa, much appreciated. And feel free to send along your findings to me. You can email me at Chuck@MediaPost.com

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