Research conducted by WorldPay shows that mobile payment page optimisation and screen size are impacting the number of consumers willing to purchase goods and services on their mobiles. Over half of the retail experts polled believe that screen size is still an issue but 34 per cent think that lack of payment page optimisation discourages consumers from spending money on their devices. The most popular activities completed by consumers on all mobile devices include searching for stores (48 per cent) and researching prices (43 per cent).

Of those polled, 65 per cent believe that tablet devices are most commonly used for making a purchase whereas only 31 per cent think that a smartphone is used for this activity. In fact, tablets are thought to be the device of choice for a number of activities including searching for a store (60 per cent), researching product price (57 per cent) and looking up product information (55 per cent). In comparison, smartphones are more commonly used for voucher codes (60 per cent), taking photos of products (60 per cent) and using QR codes (65 per cent).

Philip McGriskin, chief product officer, WorldPay comments: “Perhaps the most dramatic change aligned to recent mobile successes is that consumers are able to browse using their personal technology any time they want – on the commute home, at the pub, and even while visiting a shop itself. Yet, whilst consumers are using their devices to browse they are not spending as much as they could. Merchants need to understand if their target customers would purchase if the experience met their requirements and, if so, implement an optimised mobile payment page. Consumers have high expectations of the purchasing experience on a mobile and it needs to replicate what they have come to expect on a website. If merchants can understand and respond to their customers’ demands, they will reap the rewards as the m-commerce appetite does exist.”

These findings support recent research conducted by WorldPay for the Global Online Shopper report, which found that almost half of online shoppers in the UK own a smartphone (48 per cent) and 13 per cent own a tablet. In the UK a quarter of respondents’ disposable income is spent online and 29 per cent of UK consumers said they’ll use their smartphone or tablet to buy online in the next year. The report also found that of those who purchase goods on their mobile devices, 25 per cent prefer a mobile optimised website, compared to 19 per cent who prefer to shop via bespoke apps.

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