While 45pc of the most active and advanced mobile phone users would like to be able to pay for goods and services using their mobile phones, 73pc have significant privacy and identity theft concerns, according to new research by Accenture.
In an effort to understand more about practices and attitudes regarding mobile commerce, Accenture surveyed what it described as ‘tech forward’ consumers – early adopters who use at least four internet-connected devices and at least four internet services – from 11 countries.
Consumers in Asia were the most enthusiastic about mobile commerce. Overall, 69pc of survey respondents in Asia indicated they favoured using mobile phones for most payments, led by Chinese consumers (76pc) and India (75pc), followed by Korea (56pc) and Japan (47pc). Outside of Asia, the next highest positive response was in Brazil, where 70pc of consumers favoured using mobile phones for most payments. However, in the US and Europe combined only 26pc of respondents favoured using mobile phones for most payments.
Mobile purchases
Asked if they had used a mobile phone to make purchases in the past six months, nearly half (47pc) of tech forward consumers in China indicated they had, followed by Korea (42pc) and Japan (33pc). Depending on the geographic region, tech forwards are also in the early stages of using barcode or near field communications (NFC) technology to interact with their shopping environment. In Asia, 38pc of consumers surveyed had scanned a product’s barcode while shopping to get additional information; 36pc had displayed a ‘digital ticket’ for admission to an event or to board a flight; and, 31pc had purchased an item or received a coupon from a ‘smart poster’ containing an electronic tag or barcode.
Some 64pc of consumers surveyed indicated they would use gift cards and coupons delivered directly to their mobile phones, led by Chinese respondents (94pc) Korean respondents (91pc) and Indian respondents (76pc). Globally, 79pc of the consumers surveyed indicated they would redeem those coupons when checking out of a store, compared with 77pc who said they would use coupons that had to be clipped from magazines.
Mobile privacy concerns
Nearly three-quarters (73pc) of the global respondents indicated that using a mobile phone for payments makes them worry about their privacy. Seventy per cent said mobile phone payments increase the risk of identity theft and fraud.
That said, 62pc of consumers surveyed who typically use a credit card for non-telco-related monthly payments said they would use their mobile phone to pay their bill, if they were to receive a 20pc discount. More than half (59pc) said they would welcome receiving money-off promotions based on their past purchases. Forty-seven per cent said they would welcome receiving personalised mobile phone ads when they are within a few steps of the promoted product or service. And, 69pc indicated they would gladly accept mobile phone ads sent to their phones as part of their service contract in exchange for lower mobile phone usage fees.
“Mobile commerce – which encompasses mobile banking, such as checking balances or paying bills over a mobile phone, plus coupons, promotions, redeemable gift cards, loyalty points, and more – is poised to drive huge changes in the way we shop and pay for goods and services,” said Andy Zimmerman, director, mobility services, Accenture.
“We can expect a convergence of traditional and alternative currencies, and it has huge implications on the entire in-store retail experience.”
Article courtesy of Businessandleadership.com
