E-commerce is about 15 years old on the desktop, give or take. But it's finally beginning to take hold on smartphones as well.MediaPost reports that nearly 4 in 10 smartphone owners have bought something not related to mobile over their devices during the past six months, according to new data from Compete, a Web analytics firm. That's significant progress, given that mobile barcode scanning, standardized payment services, and secure device purchases haven't hit the mainstream in the U.S. yet.
Two examples cited in the report: 14 percent of users have bought books, DVDs, or video games, while 12 percent bought movie tickets. Just over 40 percent of iPhone and Android users used their phones to research pricing, while an average of 35 percent of those same users read reviews on their phones before making a purchase.
It's no surprise that when asked what gets in the way of mobile shopping, users cite poor mobile site designs, as well as the fact that many sites just didn't load when requested.
