LONDON—Are purchases made via a mobile phone too complicated for consumers?
A new global study indicates that more than three fourths (78%) of people made a purchase by mobile—which includes digital wallets—in the previous six months, but more than half (58%) abandoned a transaction before checkout, Media Post reported.
According to the MEF Mobile Money Report, some people simply change their minds about a purchase and others find the payment process too complicated, time consuming or intrusive to continue. Media Post cited the main reasons from the study that consumers say they abandon a mobile purchase once started:
- 31% -- Asked for too much sensitive information
- 22% -- Due to connectivity or other technical issues
- 21% -- Took too long to complete
Media Post also listed how consumers have purchased items or services via mobile in the previous six months:
- 41% -- Typing credit card details into a mobile website
- 35% -- Directly to a mobile phone bill (such as chargeable SMS message)
- 31% -- Via an app with the app provider having a record of the credit card details
- 18% -- Via a mobile wallet in a shop
- 18% -- Airtime transfer
- 8% -- Plug and play, such as a credit card inserted in a reading device attached to the merchant’s mobile phone
The MEF Mobile Money Report was commissioned by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum and comprised a survey of 6,000 mobile media users in nine countries (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Nigeria, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States).