Luxury goes mobile, Worldpay research shows

Shoppers in emerging economies such as China and India are seeking a more luxury, personalised shopping service on their mobile, new research from Worldpay reveals.

Also, says the survey, many Asia Pacific shoppers are actually willing to pay more for a product or service when the mobile shopping experience is enhanced.

Worldpay’s research canvassed 16,000 consumers across 10 global markets, including China, India and Japan. The research found that mobile payment apps are on track to become the luxury shopping experience of the future.

Key findings in Asia Pacific include:

 62 per cent of Chinese consumers and 64 per cent of Indian consumers are happy to pay more for an item, trip or service if the mobile user experience is better (the global average is 41 per cent)

 56 per cent of consumers in India and 54 per cent in China are more likely to shop on a mobile phone if sent a personalised push notification from a nearby store (the global average is 35 per cent)

 In Japan, 38 per cent of mobile shoppers spent more than ¥7410 (US$69) on their latest purchase

 India and China prefer buying via apps over mobile browsers more than any other markets, at 82 versus 18 per cent, and 80 versus 20 per cent respectively (the global average is 71 versus 29 per cent.

“Shoppers in Asia’s emerging economies have leapfrogged past traditional modes of online shopping and now demand a personalised, luxury, on-the-go experience in the palm of their hand,” says Worldpay global enterprise e-commerce GM for Asia Pacific Phil Pomford. “Online merchants that can deliver the right experience have much to gain, as Asian shoppers are making bigger, more valuable purchases via their smartphones and are even happy to spend more with merchants that deliver a better experience.

“At the same time, to capitalise on the mobile shopping opportunity, merchants must consider how to help smartphone shoppers feel secure.”

Security is particularly a concern in Japan, with just 37 per cent of consumers saying they would be happy for apps to store their payment details, against a global average of 57 per cent.

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