1 in 8 European Smartphone Owners Conducted a Retail Transaction on their Device

Access to Retail Sites & Apps Among EU5 Smartphone Owners Doubles Over Past Year

London, UK, 26 July 2012 - Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of mobile commerce usage across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) using the Comscore MobiLens service. The study showed that the EU5 mobile retail audience nearly doubled over the past year, with 1 in 6 smartphone users accessing online retail sites and apps on their device. In addition, 1 in 8 EU5 smartphone users actually completed a retail transaction on their phones.

“E-Commerce has become central to many consumers’ digital lives over the past few years, but we are now observing a rapid increase in the emergence of m-commerce, where consumers visit retail sites or use dedicated apps and ultimately make on-device purchases,” said Hesham Al-Jehani, European mobile product manager at Comscore. “While smaller screen sizes can be an impediment to people conducting transactions on mobile devices, retailers have responded to the changing consumer environment by simplifying the transaction processes and improving the mobile experience to facilitate on-the-go purchasing.”

Retail Site Visitation via Smartphone Differs Significantly Across EU5
In May 2012, 16.6 percent of the EU5 smartphone audience accessed online retail sites and apps, displaying an increase of 4.6 percentage points in the past year. Spain was the fastest growing market with a growth rate of 141 percent to nearly 2 million smartphone users accessing retail brands like Amazon and eBay on their handsets. The UK was the largest market by absolute numbers with 6.5 million smartphone retail users, but also had the least rapid growth rate at 74 percent. Germany ranked a close second with 5.8 million retail users, and also had a relatively high penetration of mobile retail users at 22.6 percent.

Mobile Retail Activity Among Smartphone Audience
3 month average ending May 2011 vs May 2012
Total EU5 (FR, DE, IT, ES and UK) Age 13+
Source: Comscore MobiLens

Accessed Online Retail

Smartphone Audience (000)

Y/Y Growth by Audience

% of Smartphone Audience

Y/Y Percentage Point Increase

EU5

19,475

94%

16.6%

4.6 pp

Spain

1,963

141%

9.8%

4.1 pp

Germany

5,838

118%

22.6%

6.3 pp

France

2,243

99%

10.2%

2.6 pp

Italy

2,969

76%

13.6%

4.2 pp

UK

6,461

74%

23.1%

4.7 pp

1 in 8 Smartphone Owners Engage in M-Commerce Transactions
Approximately 1 in 8 EU5 smartphone users (12.4 percent) purchased goods or services on their device in May 2012. Among the 19.5 million smartphone users who accessed retail content, 75 percent conducted a transaction.

An analysis of the top 5 types of goods and services purchased via smartphones showed clothing or accessories (4.3 percent of smartphone audience) and books (3.2 percent) to be the most popular retail categories. Other services or goods purchased by European smartphone owners were consumer electronics/household appliances (3.1 percent), tickets (3.1 percent) and personal care/hygiene products (2.1 percent).

Mobile Retail Activity Among Smartphone Owners
3 Month Average Ending May 2012
Total EU5 (FR, DE, IT, ES and UK) Smartphone Audience: Age 13+
Source: Comscore MobiLens

Target Audience (000)

% of Smartphone Audience

Total Smartphone Audience: 13+ yrs old

117,609

100.0%

Purchased goods or services

14,552

12.4%

Type of goods or services purchased

Clothing or accessories

5,036

4.3%

Books (excluding e-books)

3,806

3.2%

Consumer electronics / household appliances

3,698

3.1%

Tickets

3,639

3.1%

Personal care / hygiene products

2,452

2.1%

“Given Europeans’ existing predilection for online apparel shopping, it is not surprising to see this category rank as the most popular for purchase via mobile devices. But it’s also possible the category’s popularity corresponds with the heavy use of email marketing, with consumers more likely to see and respond to offers on their phones when they check their email,” added Mr. Al-Jehani.

May 2012 EU5 Mobile Benchmark Data
The table below shows Comscore’s May 2012 mobile benchmark data, including a review of mobile consumption behaviour and device penetration for the five European countries under measurement. These benchmarks are published by Comscore to provide the most up-to-date snapshot of the mobile industry. Further information on these benchmarks, and other data included above, can be provided upon request.

Mobile Benchmark Data for the European Market
3 Month Average Ending May 2012
Total EU5 (DE, ES, FR, IT and UK), Age 13+
Source: Comscore MobiLens

Penetration (%) of Mobile Users

EU5

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

UK

Used Smartphone

48.8%

46.4%

42.3%

45.5%

57.0%

56.6%

Used Application (excl. pre-installed)

42.7%

37.8%

37.8%

37.1%

48.9%

54.6%

Used browser

42.4%

40.5%

35.9%

36.8%

47.0%

54.6%

Played games

29.7%

17.0%

27.5%

33.3%

33.6%

38.4%

Sent text message

83.1%

85.4%

78.3%

81.1%

79.1%

91.6%

Listened to music

28.9%

24.9%

27.7%

26.5%

38.6%

29.9%

Accessed Social Networking Site or Blog

29.0%

25.6%

23.0%

25.5%

33.2%

40.2%

About MobiLens
MobiLens data is derived from an intelligent online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile subscribers age 13 and above. Data on mobile phone usage refers to a respondent’s primary mobile phone and does not include data related to a respondent’s secondary device.

About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo

Ayaan Mohamud
Comscore, Inc.
+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775
worldpress@comscore.com