Smartwatch trend will contribute to growth in mobile e-commerce purchases suggests research
Smartwatches are rapidly growing in popularity, moving from technology advancement to mainstream merchandise, according to research from mobile agency Ansible.
According to the research commissioned by Ansible, companies should start to consider how their brands can best use smartwatch ownership and technology to maximise productivity.
With almost 20% of people already owning a smartwatch, marketers without a smartwatch strategy risk losing sales if their technology platforms are not equipped to cope with growing demand from mobile purchases.
Ansible Australia CEO, Scott Player, said: “18% of people now own a smartwatch, but we are also seeing many other interest points in wearables that tell us there is strong potential growth looming across this product sector”.
The new research shows the wearables market will also increase in growth within the next year, with the market contributing to the movement of consumers to mobile-first e-commerce.
The research discovered 96% of Australians have heard of one or more wearable devices, two out of three Australians aged 18-25 have used one, and half of all Australians are planning to buy one within the next six months.
Smartwatches make up the most popular wearables category, with Apple leading sales and Samsung in second.
Fitness and gaming are the second and third most popular categories, Ansible’s research found.
Numbers are set to rise due to the launch of the Apple Watch Series 2, which launched in September, as it gives consumers more affordable prices with better features, such as being 50% faster and waterproof.
According to the research, mobile purchasing across various areas of Australian e-commerce has grown in the past year with the study finding mobile and tablet clothing, entertainment, gaming and video content purchases made by ‘tapping’ have more than doubled since last year.
In order to allow customers to purchase and not just browse on their mobile device, the research suggests marketers should ensure their websites are compatible with mobile purchasing options.
Scott Player: Local consumers are ready for tap-and-pay via mobile technology
“Mobile purchasing has become almost a daily factor for many people and from what we have seen, many clients will be missing sales as people on their mobiles pass by e-commerce sites that are not mobile friendly and operating efficiently,” Player said.
Ansible also found ApplePay as the most used mobile payment service with 45% of tap-and-go payment users having used the application.
“ApplePay is continuing to gain traction overseas, so we believe local consumers are ready for tap-and-pay via mobile technology to make its way to the Australian mainstream,” said Player.
“Overall, it’s a very exciting space. The opportunity is there to disrupt, transform, or simply evolve industries utilising the power and capability of dynamic mobility and technology solutions.”
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Almost 20% of Australian’s already own a smartwatch and half intend to buy one within a year. That my friends, is BS.
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