1 in 7 European Smartphone Owners Make Online Purchases via their Device
European Smartphone Owners Accessing Retail Sites Has Grown by 43 Percent in Past Year
London, 21 October 2013 - Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of mobile phone usage across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) using data from the Comscore MobiLens service. The study showed that the European mobile retail audience grew by 43 percent over the past year, with 20 percent of smartphone users accessing online retail sites and apps using their device. In addition, 1 in 7 European smartphone users reported having completed a retail transaction on their mobile phone in a month.
Retail Site Visitation via Smartphone Differs Significantly Across EU5
In the three month average ending August 2013, 20.4 percent of the EU5 smartphone audience accessed online retail sites, displaying an increase of 2.8 percentage points in the past year. Spain was the fastest growing market with a growth rate of 66.5 percent to almost 3.3 million smartphone users accessing retail sites on their mobile. Italy ranked second with a growth rate of 61.3 percent to almost 5.6 million smartphone users accessing those sites on their device. When looking at the year-on-year growth of smartphone owners accessing online retail sites, Italy ranks first with a 4.8 percentage point increase, reaching a level of 19.3 percent of smartphone users accessing retail sites in a month. In terms of audience size, Germany had the largest number of smartphone users accessing retail sites (9.9 million), followed by the UK with 9.7 million.
Retail Activity Amongst Smartphone Audience | ||||
| Accessed Online Retail in a month | |||
Smartphone Audience (000) | Y/Y Growth by Audience | % of Total Smartphone Audience | Y/Y Percentage Point Increase | |
EU5 | 31,804 | 43.3% | 20.4% | 2.8 |
Spain | 3,284 | 66.5% | 12.2% | 3.1 |
Italy | 5,589 | 61.3% | 19.3% | 4.8 |
Germany | 9,929 | 45.2% | 27.2% | 2.9 |
France | 3,340 | 35.9% | 11.7% | 1.1 |
UK | 9,662 | 29.5% | 27.6% | 2.4 |
36.6 Million European Smartphone Users Take Pictures of a Product Whilst in a Retail Store
Taking a picture of a product whilst in a physical retail store was the most popular in-store activity performed by smartphone owners in the EU5, with nearly a quarter of users (23.5 percent) doing so during the month. Europeans also tend to seek advice from friends and family when making purchase decisions, as 14.3 percent sent a picture of a product and 14.0 percent called or texted friends/family about a product.
Top 5 In-Store Activities Performed by European Smartphone Owners | ||
| Target Audience (000) | % of Smartphone Audience |
Total Smartphone Audience: 13+ yrs old | 155,772 | 100.0% |
Took picture of a product | 36,617 | 23.5% |
Send picture of product to family/friends | 22,317 | 14.3% |
Texted or called friends/family about a product | 21,782 | 14.0% |
Scanned a product bar code | 17,047 | 10.9% |
Compared product prices | 12,286 | 7.9% |
1 in 7 European Smartphone Owners Engage in M-Commerce Transactions
Approximately 1 in 7 European smartphone users (14.6 percent) purchased goods or services via their device in August 2013. The number of Europeans engaging in m-commerce transactions has increased by 37 percent over the year from 16.6 million users in August 2012 to 22.8 million in August 2013.
An analysis of the top 5 goods and services purchased via smartphone showed clothing or accessories (5.4 percent) and consumer electronics/household appliances (3.8 percent of smartphone audience) were the most popular retail categories. Other services or goods purchased by smartphone owners in Europe were books (3.8 percent), tickets (3.4 percent) and personal care or hygiene products (2.6 percent).
Mobile Retail Activity Amongst Smartphone Owners | ||
| Target Audience (000) | % of Smartphone Audience |
Total Smartphone Audience: 13+ yrs old | 155, 772 | 100.0% |
Purchased goods or services | 22,765 | 14.6% |
Type of goods or services purchased |
|
|
Clothing or accessories | 8,411 | 5.4% |
Consumer electronics / household appliances | 5,957 | 3.8% |
Books (excluding e-books) | 5,861 | 3.8% |
Tickets | 5,352 | 3.4% |
Personal care/hygiene products | 4,118 | 2.6% |
About MobiLens
MobiLens data is derived from an intelligent online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile phone 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 digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behaviour that enable clients to maximise the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.