Mobile websites fail to satisfy users
If you can't buy stuff, is it really m-commerce?
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E-commerce sites are putting their future success at risk by failing to offer users the ability to buy through their mobile websites, a new study has revealed.
The Strategy Analytics Wireless Media Lab looked at e-commerce sites eBay, lastminute.com, and Odeon Cinema and the mobile offerings they put forward. It found that mobile customers wanted to be able to buy through their handsets, something some companies overlook.
The e-commerce giants' mobile offerings paled in comparison to their fixed internet sites, with the lack of payment facilities being a major bugbear for users. The report found that users were extremely dissatisfied with some of the sites, and expected to be able to buy content from lastminute.com and Odeon Cinema, or bid for items on eBay through its mobile portal.
In contrast, Amazon and iTunes were the most sought-after mobile e-commerce sites.
"Consumers were profoundly dissatisfied with the concept of only using the m-commerce sites for research and pre-purchase evaluation," said Paul Brown, senior analyst, user experience research.
"Participants were surprised and disappointed that when using the lastminute.com mobile portal they could search for flights and vacations but could not purchase either tickets or trips."
The analysts said to be successful, mobile commerce sites needed to offer users the core features they associate with the brand.
"In order to ignite m-commerce transactions, m-commerce sites must offer efficient search engines, the ability to customise results and assurance of secure transactions," said David Kerr, vice president of the Global Wireless Practice.
There have been moves in this area in recent months, with credit card firm Visa announcing in March that it was pushing for closer collaboration between the wireless internet and credit card industries. The payments company has even invested in the Dublin-based dotMobi domain registry and has launched a mobile phone platform.
© 2007 ENN
COMMENTS
Have Patience Ciara O'Brien..Rome was not built in a day
We as a society have developed the need to have everything that we want as soon as we want it. It is commonly called "Instant Gratification". We go to stores and purchase items as soon as we see it; we go to restaurants and satisfy our cravings; we go online and use analytical comparison software to instantly find that perfect partner to share our lives with....we just can't seem to wait for anything anymore.
It took years for the Internet to mature from the original Darpa Net project. It took years for HTML websites to catch on even after Marc Andreessen developed the Mosaic viewer. It took years for personal computers to come down in price to the point that the average consumer could avoid it.
My Point: It will take years for DotMobi to mature to the level that we are use today with the Internet. We just simply need to have patience.
Why Bother?
With a few notable exceptions (movie/concert tickets, parking tickets) I really don't see the point. It's not like I'm spontaneously going to order up a new PC or car on the train ride home.
Marketing has been hard at work to convince tech firms this is the way of the future. Exactly backwards of the way the process should work. What's that saying about buggy coming before the horse....
I use it every day.
With an N73 and no internet access at home I use my unlimited data plan and do my banking, eBay and everything else on my phone. There are only a few sites that I can't get to work and for those a phone call will do. Build it and they will come.
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