Each of these options will take the guest through to a menu where they can select items and proceed to purchase. “Australians enthusiastically embrace new technologies – particularly those that make life easier. That’s why this is a great market to …

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He sees mobile shopping as a bridge between the physical store with its limited aisles and the limitless aisle of the internet: “In many ways, the store… is bringing the cloud inside its walls… Mobile is making this possible. Perhaps this is the …

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If I go to a site to purchase the last thing I want to do is f@rt around downloading an App before I can begin the serious job of purchasing online. Don’t get me wrong, from my experience the Apps I have are really useful little gizmos.. for things I do on a frequent basis like checking the weather, keeping an eye on what I eat and the woolies Apps when I do local grocery shopping. But, if I’m making what may be a once off purchase at an online store I’m not interested in the rigmarole of downloading an app, which usually involves remembering a password etc, engaging it before I can make my purchase.

It makes sense to just have a mobile optimised site and let the shopper do what a shopper does and shop.

The findings, by mobile and social media merchandising firm Zmags revealed that only 4% of consumers prefer to shop using mobile apps, while 87% prefer websites and mobile sites. However, another 87% of consumers prefer to browse and buy from websites …

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Online activity peaked around the week ending on the 5th of December.

And it seems the phenomenal growth is down to “established” Aussie retailers whom have become the driving force behind the uptake of online commerce, said Elena Wise, PayPal’s Acting Managing Director.

“Many of Australia’s most established retailers have come back fighting hard against international competition over the last year, and PayPal saw the majority of its merchants experience their biggest ever online trading period this Christmas.”

And consumers here are also on the prowl for convenient ways to purchase, be it online, via a mobile device, or in-store.

And the competitive prices available online is also a major push factor towards e-purchases.

However, more intense competition is on the way for 2012, Wise warned, partly due to the continued strength of the Australian dollar, which is good news for the consumer.

However, all is not lost for local operators.

“Australians prefer to shop domestically providing an ongoing opportunity for retailers to capitalise on their competitive advantage by combining their offline footprints with their online presence.”

Consumers here are “nimble” increasingly switching between various retail channels to research, locate and buy goods and services, she added.

“Emerging retail models such as ‘buy online, collect in-store’.. engenders brand loyalty and is hard matched by overseas competition.”

And it looks like two retailers were the major winners over the holiday period: Dan Murphy’s and Toys”R”Us, both of which experienced their “largest ever” online sales during trading period.

“During the holidays, we saw a spike in alcohol being bought via our online channel, with additional offers adding to the convenience of buying online. Whilst online orders spiked, many of our customers still chose to pop into local stores for their purchases” said Martin Smith, General Manager Dan Murphy’s.

So, was this mega e-shopping trend repeated elsewhere?

“We certainly had a strong Christmas for online trading” a Woolworths spokesperson told SmartHouse.

However, the spokesperson refused to divulge official trading figures, saying the retailer will release official figures later this month.

“Retailers that deliver great products and customer service across multiple channels are ultimately those that will reap the rewards of the new retail environment,” Wise added.

 source: By Oonagh Reidy | Wednesday | 2012-01-11

 image by Grant Cochrane

A record number of sales using barcode scanners to cop are prices while on the move then getting the item delivered. For five days in December eBay opened a shop in London for shoppers to try the experience. Although rather a gimmick it did show a new breed of Hog St online stores taking shopping into the new millennium.

Having a shop to inspect an item, compare, then scan the barcode and buy online from your smartphone later and have it delivered sounds like an easier way to shop especially with bulkier items.

Mobile technology and shopping have seen eBay embrace it to their advantage. Reporting that a sale is made on a mobile device every second during peak Christmas period and mobile sales accounting for 10% of total sasles

eBay have predicted that smartphone app sales would rise 150% globally on 2010 by this New Years Eve (2012).

Sellers, is your website mobile friendly?

source:  Excerpt of article by  Dan Wilson

Comment from original article
Jimbo says:

January 6, 2012 at 8:04 am
I have noticed that some DVD’s now have the little square code thingy which you can scan and it takes you to a URL to watch a trailer. Interaction with customers through mobile devices has giant potential.

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FYI ….  little square code thingy = QR Code                  

My opinion is that the Australian statistics are similar

JANUARY 6, 2012

Mobile buyers will nearly triple by 2015

In 2011, US mobile commerce sales (including travel) surged 91.4%, to reach $6.7 billion. Continued strong growth will boost sales to $31 billion in 2015. More smartphone users, greater consumer comfort with mobile shopping and an increasing number of retailers launching mobile sites and apps will all play a part in propelling m-commerce sales.

“To keep up with consumer expectations, retailers are bolstering their mobile offerings,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “US Mobile Commerce Forecast: Capitalizing on Consumers’ Urgent Needs.” “Retailers were slow to react to consumer interest in mobile shopping. But now they are making great strides in launching mobile websites and apps.”

This will help US m-commerce sales grow at a compound annual rate of 55% from 2010 to 2015, including 73.1% growth expected this year.

In 2011 mobile shopping became synonymous with smartphone shopping. The percentage of mobile shoppers who were smartphone users jumped to 93%, from 75% in 2010. As people trade in their feature phones for smartphones they will naturally take advantage of their devices’ powerful capabilities for doing a range of mobile activities, including shopping and buying.

Completing a purchase via mobile is less popular, with only 26.8 million mobile users estimated to have done so in 2011, but that number too will rise quickly, to 61.8 million in 2015.

“Purchases from mobile phones still account for a tiny share of total ecommerce sales,” said Grau. “However, in some retail categories like flash sales and tickets, retailers report a much higher share of sales coming from mobile users.”

article excerpt  from emarketer.com