~Strong growth to continue; with entertainment and physical goods leading purchases to a market value of $54 billion by 2019
SYDNEY, Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Australians are increasingly using tablets or smartphones to purchase a wide range of goods, content and services, including physical goods, travel, insurance, cinema tickets, music, news and e-books. 59% of all Australian consumers aged between 15 and 65 have made at least one mobile commerce purchase in the last 12 months.
Mobile commerce involves the use of mobile device to undertake a wireless transaction performed over a carrier's mobile data network or a WiFi connection.
Frost & Sullivan's Australian Mobile Commerce Market 2014 estimates total expenditure via mobile devices at $22 billion in 2014. Services, such as travel and financial services, account for the largest category of expenditure at $13 billion, followed by purchase of physical goods at around $6 billion. Expenditure on entertainment is estimated at $1.2 billion and media purchases, such as tickets, e-books and other digital content, is estimated at $1.6 billion.
Australia's mobile commerce market is predicted to grow strongly at a CAGR of 19%, increasing from $22 billion in 2014 to $54 billion in 2019. Phil Harpur, Senior Research Manager, Australia & New Zealand ICT Practice says, "Entertainment is envisaged to be the fastest growing segment with a CAGR of 26%, with thrust from the strong uptake of paid music, movies and TV shows and games. Online news, online magazines and e-books will also display very high growth as a significant proportion of consumers move to view written content on mobile devices." The second largest growth segment, physical goods is expected to experience 23% growth.
"87% of Australians over 15 years of age currently own a smartphone, up from 73% in 2013 and 68% in 2012. 63% of Australians aged between 15 and 65 now regularly use a tablet. Frost & Sullivan expects that expenditure will be propelled more by greater willingness of consumers to transact on mobile devices than by further increases in mobile device penetration, as usage of smartphones and tablets is already approaching saturation, "explained Harpur.
Ownership and usage of mobile devices, particularly tablets, has increased markedly over the past three years. Increased availability of devices, combined with the convenience and functionality they offer over a PC or laptop, is facilitating consumers to transact online in a broader range of situations, whether they are at home, in a store, or travelling.
"This in turn is transforming the way that Australian consumers shop; both from home or while they are out and about. Australia's shoppers are using their mobile devices to research products, check where they can buy products and whether they are in-stock, compare prices whilst in-store, get feedback from their friends via social media, and to purchase products. 28% of consumers frequently conduct research on products and services before coming to a retail store," Harpur elaborated.
Mobile devices are becoming an integral part of omni-channel retailing as its immediacy allows online retailers opportunities to engage shoppers with relevant offers when and where they are making buying decisions, encouraging impulse purchasing. Tablets are also a very important tool in assisting retailers with their customer service and selling process, though a large proportion of Australian retailers that are not capitalising on the benefits possible from using tablets as a tool this way.
Many Australian households have a wireless home network, and the increasing prevalence of free WiFi networks in public places provides opportunities for consumers to transact independent of access to their service provider's network. Improved access speeds and reliability of mobile networks are stimulating consumers to transact over their mobile service provider's network, with fewer concerns over access speeds and signal drop-out.
