Clothes (53%), books (46%), and DVDs and video games (42%) are the top 3 mobile purchases among American shoppers, reports WorldPay [download page] in an April 2012 study. Clothes (32%) and books (22%) also fared well when looking at overall online spending behavior, though department stores (42%) emerged as the top category within this broader sphere. Compared to the global respondent average of 2.5%, US respondents reported a higher average of online spending via a smartphone, saying they make 3% of their online purchases via the device.
1 in 5 Shop on Overseas Sites; Security Fears Prevalent
Data from WorldPay’s “Global Online Shopper Report” indicates that 22% of the US respondents shop on overseas websites, although they do have concerns about doing so. Chief among these are concerns about fraud/protecting their identity (60%), the cost of shipping/delivery (58%), concerns about shipping/delivery (57%), and worries about payment security (50%).
59% of the respondents have concerns about online shopping security, with 18% having experienced online fraud. Security concerns were also found to be a key hindrance to the 40% of mobile owners who don’t intend to shop with a smartphone or tablet device. Other reasons included not seeing a need to use the device, and concerns about viruses and spyware.
According to a survey released in November 2011 by Motricity, security and usability concerns were the top mobile shopping deterrents, each cited by 32% of the respondents.
Other Findings:
- The most popular payment methods among US online consumers are credit cards (76%), PayPal (54%), and debit cards (50%).
- Profiling the highest spender, the report identifies this person as a 26-year old female.
- US respondents cite unexpected costs (62%) and just browsing (47%) as their main reasons for shopping cart abandonment, both more prevalent than the global averages, of 56% and 37%, respectively.
- Looking at mobile shopping attitudes, the report found that mobile optimized websites were preferred over shopping applications (32% vs. 18%).
About the Data: The WorldPay data is based on an online survey conducted in January and February 2012 of 19,000 global consumers who had shopped online within the past 6 months. The shoppers were drawn from: China (2,000); Germany (1,000); the US (2,000); Spain (1,000); Finland (1,000); France (1,000); Japan (1,000); Russia (1,000); Brazil (2,000); the UK (1,000); Mexico (1,000); Australia (1,000); Canada (1,000); Argentina (1,000); and India (2,000).
