As the holiday shopping season gets under way this week, merchants can expect to see more transactions completed using wireless devices. A survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 45% of respondents expect to increase the amount of time they spend using mobile phones to make purchases during the next two years.
Many survey respondents said that when it comes to using mobile phones to shop, they are looking for more than a way to use a Web browser on the go. Instead they want to use apps that make the shopping experience even easier than a traditional website, or they want to use their phone as a payment device by either tapping it or swiping the screen.
Right now, however, just 12% of those surveyed regularly use their smartphone to make purchases, making shopping the ninth most popular smartphone activity behind communication through voice and text, checking news weather and sports, connecting to social or business networks, location-based services, online research, uploading video, managing finances and downloading video.
PwC says that location-based services appear poised for rapid growth, with 49% of respondents calling them one of the three most important uses for their phones. Finding a location was the No. 1 smartphone activity that respondents said they would spend more time on during the next two years. This includes finding a previously identified location using a navigation service or finding a recommended location using an app like Siri or Urbanspoon.
