State of m-commerce in the Netherlands

Dutch inhabitants will spend about 1.2 billion euro this year on their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Mobile commerce nowadays owns a share of about 11% of e-commerce spendings. And it is growing considerably. In comparison to the second half of 2012 m-commerce has grown with 53%. This was announced by Thuiswinkel.org, the organization for e-retailers in the Netherlands.

The number of mobile buyers has grown from 1.5 million to 2.3 million. A number that no longer can be ignored by large retailers. On a yearly basis about 12 million mobile orders are placed. The average spending per order is about 50 euro. Surprisingly the large majority (63%) of all mobile shopping is done at home - on the touch - from a tablet.

It looks like an evolution has taken place. 20 years ago consumers had a special room dedicated for their PC. Later the PC moved to the living room and after a few years it was replaced by a laptop. Nowadays the tablet is taking over and consumers use this device more and more for e-shopping.

But not everything is perfect for consumers. Large e-retailers report that the share of mobile visitors on their website is above 20%. But the share of mobile spendings is only 11%. There clearly still are some limiting factors here.

This is what consumers mention as limiting factors in their m-shopping experience:

• small screen (for smartphones)
• poor user experience on mobile websites
• feeling unsafe when ordering / paying online

But in general consumers love mobile shopping. In fact it is fair to say that they are more ready for it than companies are. M-commerce is growing fast and consumers demand a good mobile shopping experience. Companies must invest to solve limiting factors and optimize the mobile experience. Both mobile or responsive websites, but also apps can help increase the mobile experience.

Source: Thuiswinkel.org