Mobile shopping takes a serious pace with more satisfied consumers

The use of mobile phones to access websites and applications is rapidly growing with 33% of people using their handsets to access a retailer website and an additional 26% saying they plan to access retailer websites or mobile apps by phone in the future, according to a new report from ForeSee Results.

“It looks like more than half of all shoppers will soon be using their mobile phones for retail purposes,” said Kevin Ertell, vice president of Retail Strategy at ForeSee Results and author of today’s report.

“Any retailer not actively working to develop, measure, and refine its mobile experience is leaving money on the table for competitors.”

Further the study reveals that consumers with high satisfaction rate from a mobile experience say they are 30% more likely to buy from that retailer online and 30% more likely to buy offline, as well as being far more likely to return to the main website, recommend it, and be loyal to the brand.

In general, shoppers rate their satisfaction with retail websites significantly higher (78 on the study’s 100-point scale) than their satisfaction with mobile experiences (apps and sites) (75).

“It’s true that mobile sites have far less maturity than traditional e-retail websites,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.

“But I’m not sure that matters to consumers. Their expectations are being set by the best websites and the best mobile experiences. They aren’t going to have a lot of patience for excuses about the challenges that mobile shopping presents when it comes to design and usability. Retailers need to step up their game in this area.”