£11bn m-commerce boom adds to UK High Street woes
Struggling UK High Streets are set for even harsher economic headwinds with mobile retailers hoping to claw further customers offline with a 23% rise in m-commerce sales in 2012.
Published by NetSuite Inc, found that 200 High Street retail managers, including seven of the top ten retailers, expected an £11bn rise in m-commerce this year.
Despite this the majority of High Street retailers remain positive with an average anticipated uptick in revenues of 10%, bolstered by the decision of 73% of retailers to develop their own mobile services.
Andy Lloyd, General Manager of Commerce Products for NetSuite, comments: "Few people would have guessed that m-commerce would move from a nice-to-have to an essential part of your e-commerce sales platform this quickly.
"Most retailers are now in a race to get their house in order and deliver a mobile channel for their customers before they lose out to the competition. With margins tight and under pressure from online comparison sites, integration into core platforms is vital to ensure an efficient operation and retailers need to ensure that they have a state-of-the-art Web storefront, which sits on a central system to manage all B2C and B2B transactions across any touchpoint, including websites, smartphones, tablets, social media and in-store."