Early tech adopters in Asia are highly willing to embrace m-commerce, research from Accenture showed.
The company surveyed 1,100 respondents across 11 countries – all of whom use at least four different types of Internet sites and own at least four Internet-connected devices, and found that consumers in Asia were the most eager to use mobile phones for payments.
Countries surveyed were China, Japan, Korea, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US.
Overall, 69% of Asian consumers were in favor of m-commerce. The charge in Asia was led by China (76%), India (75%), Korea (56%) and Japan (47%).
Brazil came out tops outside of Asia with 70% while respondents in the US and Europe raked in a dismal 26% showing in favor of mobile payments.
Nearly half (47%) of survey participants in China indicated that had used a mobile phone to make payments in past six months, followed by Korea (42%) and Japan (33%).
Results also indicated consumers were in various stages of incorporating NFC into their retail lifestyles. 38% of Asian respondents had scanned a product’s barcode while shopping while 36% had flashed a ‘digital ticket’ for event or flight admission.
And 31% had either purchased an item or received a coupon via a ‘smart’ poster containing an electronic tag or barcode.
A large majority (94%) of China consumer indicated they would use gift cards or coupons delivered direct to their devices, followed by Korea (91%) and India (76%).
The m-commerce rage has also resulted in privacy concerns for 73% of global respondents, with 70% of the opinion that mobile phone payments heightened the risk for identity theft and fraud.
Most respondents (59%) felt the enabler role for mobile payments fell to credit card companies, followed by wireless operators (54%), software companies (52%), large retailers (52%) and device makers (48%).
“Mobile commerce is poised to drive huge changes in the way we shop and pay for goods and services,” Accenture mobility director Andy Zimmerman said.
“We can expect a convergence of traditional and alternative currencies, and it has huge implications on the entire in-store retail experience.
“While the survey indicates there are issues to address in terms of privacy and security, these findings are good news for mobile network operators because consumers have requirements they look to operators, technology vendors, or financial institutions to address.”
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