• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, June 2, 2014

Mobile shoppers have been able to buy from anywhere for some time and now some are being given the chance to buy faster.

French fashion brand Comptoir des Cotonniers recently launched a service called Fast Shopping, allowing shoppers to buy items via their smartphone in 20 seconds.

This follows multiple tests of touch-sensitive digital storefront screens that allow consumers to select products displayed on the store window and pay with their phone.

In the case of Fast Shopping, the French retailer is using the PowaTag app, which can scan items on ads in various locations and let consumers make one-click purchases with products delivered to their home within 48 hours.

Numerous studies show that consumers still want to go to physical stores to shop, though they are conducting plenty of research on smartphones and tablets both before and during their shopping trips.

The reality is that more of what I call intermittent shopping is taking place. For example, an 11 a.m. flash sale doesn’t involve a mobile shopper going anywhere but the sale still takes place. And someone who makes a clothing purchase through a flash sale in the morning may be less inclined to head to a clothing store in the afternoon.

Companies are essentially making it easier to use smartphones to buy from wherever they are at any given moment.

As one more example, Laura Ashley is reported to be planning to add codes into its catalog and website allowing shoppers to make a purchase by scanning a product page.

Whether these types of intermittent purchases have a significant impact on traditional retail sales is still yet to be seen.

But for consumers, mobile shopping is starting to become a bit more seamlessly integrated into what they do all day, whether sitting at home, walking by a store window or seeing an ad in a magazine.

They are being given more chances to make a purchase.