M-commerce sales driven by minority of online shoppers

97 percent of online clothing shoppers shop from the comforts of their own home or work, with just one percent of the respondents using in-store Wi-fi on mobile devices for purchases, according to the new survey issued by Fits.me, the virtual fitting room solution.

The survey, which asked 1,027 consumers about their attitudes towards online shopping found that even though an estimated 30 percent of clothing purchases are done from a mobile device, only 15 percent of surveyed consumers used a mobile device to make their last online purchase, with three out of 1,027 respondents using a mobile phone network to make their most recent purchase.

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Haldre, co-founder and chief executive of Fits.me, commented on the survey findings: “This survey gives the transactional statistics published in other reports some much-needed context about the shoppers that are driving those figures.”

85 percent of the survey respondents used a laptop or desktop to make their last online purchase, 11 percent a tablet, 4 percent a smartphone and only 1 out of the 1,027 respondents used a in-store kiosk for their most recent online clothing purchase. Surprisingly, instead of 18-24 year olds being the most likely to use a tablet to shop online, the survey found it was the 35-44 year olds. The data from the survey also found that using a mobile device use for clothes shopping online rapidly decreases among shoppers over the age of 45.

“For example: yes, 30 percent of apparel retail transactions now come from a mobile device and, yes, study after study emphasizes the growth rate of mobile transactions and, yes, study after study describes growth in in-store purchases. But a massive majority of people, 85 percent, didn’t even use a mobile device for their last purchase and that number is even higher for older age-groups,” pointed out Haldre.

Retailers should focus on expectations of all online consumers

“While companies make most of their revenue from a minority of their [online] customers, I’m sure retailers will want to look at the needs and expectations of all their customers to ensure the continued growth and success of their online channel,” said Haldre.

“I can't be bothered to walk the high street” was the primary reason of eight percent of respondents and the secondary reason of 13 percent of the survey respondents to shop online for clothing. Although Click & Collect has become popular service for some UK retailers, especially during the second half of 2013, survey results show that it was not a driving factor for shopping online, with only 6 percent of respondents claiming that the service was their primary reason for shopping online.

“Irrespective of device or shopping location, consumers clearly want the same experience online that they are used to in-store,” added Haldre. “Resolving these obstacles must be a priority for retailers, or they risk simply changing the device on which their shopper is disappointed.”

The survey also found that despite the more obvious issues for women in purchasing clothes online that fit, men were nearly as frustrated as women, 42 percent and 48 percent respectively about the inability to try on clothing when purchasing online. 31 percent of both male and female respondents admitted to ordering multiple sizes to find the right size for themselves, with 10 percent keeping one size and sending the rest back. Fit is seems, is still a driving issue for clothing shoppers, both offline and online. According to Mintel, global market research firm, different sizing standards among brands and retailers make online clothing shopping challenge for six out of ten shoppers.

“There are also a lot of people that still don’t buy online; resolving these obstacles may also tempt them to experience the pleasure and convenience of online clothes shopping,” concluded Haldre.

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