European nations going mobile to access online retail websites, study says

According to comScore's latest MobiLens study, 13.5 million users across Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the U.K. accessed online retail websites during the three-month period that ended in May.

Overall, these five leading European markets account for 5.8 percent of global mobile subscribers and, according to comScore, the number of smartphone users in these regions has increased by 80 percent since last year. Since May 2010, this percentage is even greater for the U.K., which has seen its smartphone users increase by 163 percent.

"Over the past year, online retailers enjoyed strong growth in visitation from mobile devices in Europe, largely driven by the acceleration in smartphone ownership," said Jeremy Copp, comScore Europe vice president for mobile. "This trend represents both an opportunity and a threat for retailers."

During the three-month period, 10.5 percent of U.K. mobile users accessed auction sites, followed by 6.7 percent in Germany, 6 percent in Italy, 4.1 percent in Spain and 3.6 percent in France. Once again, U.K. consumers led the way accessing online retail websites, with more than 9 percent of mobile users, while Germany represented 6.5 percent, Italy 5.7 percent and Spain and France at 3.4 percent each.

In terms of shopping guides, 6.6 percent of Italians accessed them through their mobile devices, followed by 5.7 percent in the U.K., 5.4 percent in Germany, 4.3 percent in Spain and 3.4 percent in France.

"While mobile access offers retailers incremental occasions to engage with customers, it also provides customers the ability to easily compare prices at competing retailers while inside a particular retailer’s store," said Copp. "Retailers must get a firm handle on mobile shopping behavior if they are to effectively navigate this changing environment."

Smarpthones and other mobile devices are expected to play a significant role in the mobile commerce industry. According to a study conducted by KPMG International, 83 percent of global executives said mobile payments will become more mainstream in the next four years, while 46 percent said mobile phone payments will become popular in only two years. Also, 72 percent of respondents said mobile payments are or will be important in the future and nearly 60 percent said their organizations already have a mobile plan in place.