Australia sees m-commerce boom

Mobile commerce is revolutionising the retail sector, a new report says, with 68% of Australian consumers planning to use mobile devices for transactions and payments in the future, according to Start Up Smart.

The report, 'm-Commerce: Secure Insight' prepared by PayPal in partnership with the Australian Retailers Association, shows that the mobile commerce market in Australia hit $155 million in total payments in 2010, while PayPal's mobile payment volume grew 14 times the previous figure.

The research was conducted by research agency The Nielsen Company, which surveyed more than 500 Australian consumers, although the mobile commerce results are based on 165 online shoppers from mobile devices.

CRN states that Australia ranks an impressive third behind Japan and South Korea for m-commerce and the report also predicts the figure to grow sharply over the next few years as smartphone penetration moves towards 100%.

Meanwhile, International Business Times reveals that it turned out that security is of great concern as the study showed that more than 50% of Australian mobile shoppers believe that in-place security measures employed by online retailers were at best wanting, and if the situation improves, mobile shopping would most likely spike too.

The report also highlighted the peak moments of on-the-go shopping as many local consumers expressed their preferences in doing their online shopping at a convenient time, whether they are on a lunch break, commuting and resting at home.