According to The Nielsen Company, Already, 9 million US mobile
subscribers say they have used their mobile phone to pay for goods or
services, and half of all data users (49 percent) say they expect to
participate in mobile commerce in the future.
Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, presented an overview
of the opportunities in mobile commerce today at the Internet Retailer
Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, IL. Among the findings presented:
- As of Q1 2008, 3.6 percent (9.2 million) of US mobile subscribers use
their phone to pay for goods or services - Men are more likely than women to use their phone for commerce: 4.5
percent (4.9 million) of men and 3.0 percent (4.3 million) of women
say they have made a purchase using their phone - Adults ages 25-34 are the most likely to have made a purchase using
their phone: 5.4 percent (3 million) of adults ages 25-34 have made a
purchase, compared to 3.6 percent of all mobile subscribers - 49 percent of mobile data users, those subscribers who have used one
or more data features on their phone such as text messaging or the
mobile internet within the past 30 days, say that it is likely they
will conduct mobile commerce in the future
Mobile websites are one popular way consumers make purchases over the
mobile phone. Of the 40 million active US users of the mobile web in April
2008, 5 million accessed mobile shopping and auction websites — up 73%
from April 2007, when just 2.9 million mobile users did so. Auction site
eBay.com is the most popular shopping or auction destination on the mobile
web, with 3.4 million unique visitors in April.
urchasing items via text messaging is another growing form of mobile
commerce. Some services allow consumers to send text messages to a phone
number or mobile shortcode in order to be charged for goods or services
directly on their mobile phone bills. Already, 6.5 million US mobile
consumers say they’ve used text messaging to purchase an item.
“For many of the millions of consumers who are already shopping online
or over landline phones, mobile commerce is an obvious and useful extension
of that opportunity,” said Nic Covey, director of insights at Nielsen
Mobile who presented the data at the Internet Retailer Conference and
Exhibition today. “As more mobile commerce services become available and
consumers develop a greater trust for phone-based transactions, we expect
commerce to be an increasingly important part of the mobile experience next
year and beyond.”
The findings come from Nielsen Mobile’s monthly Mobile Insights survey
of more than 30,000 US wireless subscribers, with similar data available
internationally.
Nielsen’s study reveals that security is the number one concern among
those mobile data users not yet participating in m-commerce:
-- 41 percent of data users who do not participate in mobile commerce say
security is their biggest concern
-- 23 percent say they worry about being charged for the airtime
-- 21 percent say they don't trust that the transaction will be completed
"As with other forms of electronic commerce, US consumers need proof
that mobile transactions will be a safe, affordable and efficient
complement to other modes of shopping,” said Covey. “As long as retailers
continue to meet those expectations, more consumers will come to view
mobile shopping as a compelling and viable option.”
Nielsen's analysis of mobile commerce is part of a large and expanding
portfolio of mobile measurement and insights across all types of mobile
media and the broader mobile consumer experience.