Shopping from mobile more popular than PC in UK, with m-retail set to hit £1bn this year

M-retailing has passed a significant milestone, if research by InMobi is to be believed, with shopping from a mobile device now mulberry handbag proving to be more popular than on PC in the UK. The study, conducted among consumers using the mobile Internet, found that almost half of shoppers still prefer hitting the stores (42%), but around a third are now comfortable with shopping from their mobile (30%) with 28% preferring to shop from their PC or laptop, highlighting a shift to ‘shopping on the move.’

Results from the study support data showing that the mobile shopping market more than doubled in revenue from £123 million in 2009 to £275 million in 2010. InMobi predicts growth to skyrocket over the coming year to an estimated £1billion by end of 2011.

A sizeable 16 million UK consumers – almost one in four – of the total 61 million population currently shop on their mobile phone. mulberry alexa InMobi uncovered similar trends in the US and predicts that take-up of shopping on mobile will be consistent in both markets.

In the UK the most popular product among mobile shoppers are games and mobile content (39%), travel comes next on 12%, followed by clothes and consumer electronics at 10% each. Entertainment tickets account for 9% and the remaining 1% is everything else.

Commenting on the study, James Lamberti, VP Global Research & Marketing at InMobi, says: ”Mobile shopping is already commonplace with one in four Brits influenced by or purchasing goods from their mobile devices. It’s an exciting time for the consumer, retailer and manufacturer as mobile shopping solutions will become more intelligent and compelling to use. The clear consumer acceptance has opened huge opportunities in the world of mobile advertising. ”