Customer satisfaction with mcommerce on the up

Half of UK online shoppers using their mobiles for shopping (compared to 32% in 2010 and 23% in 2009) and a further 28% saying they plan to do so in the future, according to a study of around 10,000 visitors to the biggest e-retail websites in the UK throughout December.

However Even though mobile shopping is clearly catching on, shoppers are still not quite as satisfied with the mobile experiences provided by UK e-retailers.

Traditional websites still outperform mobile sites and apps - Traditional e-retail websites in the UK rate a 73 on the study’s 100-point scale, up one point from last year. However, UK customers rate their satisfaction with the mobile experience significantly lower: 70 (which is still a positive increase from last year’s mobile satisfaction score of 67).

Larry Freed, CEO at ForeSee, said the study highlighted a huge opportunity for retailers with sophisticated, user-centric mobile sites and apps with shopping via a mobile phone becoming as common as shopping from a computer at work.

“The research clearly found that the use of mobile phones to access companies’ websites, mobile websites and applications for shopping purposes is increasing dramatically in the UK, indicating that any retailer who is not wholeheartedly embracing the mobile trend is leaving money on the table for competitors.

“Given the widespread and growing usage of mobile websites, it is no longer acceptable for a retailer to have a substandard mobile site no matter how good their traditional site is. If shoppers aren’t having a good mobile experience with a given retailer, they will simply go elsewhere,” Freed added.

The study also found that many people are shopping using multiple devices, underscoring the critical importance of providing a mobile experience that reinforces and supports a retailer’s brand and reputation rather than undermining it.