Why are we afraid of smartphone online purchases?

Since the evolution of the iPhone which exploded the smartphone market, we have seen mobile phone or smartphone users increase in size. In fact, we can see in the Trend Report here that ever since late 2014 Australians are using smartphones more often than desktops or laptops.

With this knowledge, you would think there would naturally be an increase in online purchases for smartphones right? Well…

In the above graph, Apac has shown that in 2015 the majority of consumers still use computers to purchase things online instead of smartphones. Personally, when I reflect on my purchasing recently, such as Ubereats, I would go to my room to get my laptop to purchase instead of using the app on my smartphone. So why do we do it?

The main reason why we tend to choose laptops over smartphones is because of security. A website that got data from Bankrate stated that almost half of consumers (41%) don’t purchase on smartphones because they feel like it is not as safe as a desktop. They feel like they will lose their security information, or that it will be misused.

The second most common reason is because it is easier to use. Going back to my Ubereats example, I can view many restaurants on one page compared to the small screen on my iPhone. There are also more options on a desktop screen compared to a limited phone capability of a website, or simply an app.

From that same website, they also formed a nice diagram to summarise the main reasons…

So what does this mean for digital marketers?

Instead of purchasing through smartphones, consumers tend to use those devices to look up recommendations, look up reviews, compare prices and so on. So, during this pre-purchase stage, this is where digital marketers need to focus on smartphone mobile marketing.