UK Retailers lagging behind American counterparts in mobile commerce, despite demand from European consumers.

Skava sets up a London, UK Office to address this need

San Francisco, US and London, UK – March 13, 2013 – Skava, the leading provider of multi-touch point retail technology, today announced that as part of a recent study, only half of the top 100 UK retailers have optimized their websites for mobile devices, compared to 100% of Top US retailers. Skava, a pioneering mobile app company since 2002 headquartered in San Francisco has recently opened a European office in London, England to cater for its global client base, as well as to offer its solutions to European Retailers to address this gap in retail solutions.
Today revenue from mobile accounts for over 1% of all online sales in Europe, but this is growing at a compound rate of 43.1%. Research firm Forrester estimates that by 2017, revenue from mobile will account for 6.8% or €19bn in revenue (Forrester Research, Inc., EU Mobile Commerce Forecast, 2012 To 2017, July 2012).

“A number of factors encourage and inhibit the adoption of mobile commerce … consumer trust, the convenience and value proposition of mobile shopping, the ease of payment and the availability of products at the right price,” said Martin Gill, Forrester analyst. “European eBusiness executives in many countries have been slow to provide mobile-optimized experiences and these factors — both supply and demand — will continue to limit the opportunities (Forrester Research, Inc., EU Mobile Commerce Forecast, 2012 To 2017, July 2012).”

A smartphone user has a distinct set of expectations when browsing on a mobile device compared to how they interact with their desktop or even their tablet. Retailer’s websites which have not been optimized for tablet experience a far lower rate of conversion compared to one that has been specifically optimized for the device. Retailers need to be able to respond quickly to the ever shifting digital landscape and influx of new devices, by making sure their e-commerce website is not only working properly but optimised for conversion across all devices, which a solution such as the SkavaONE™Platform provides.

“Our recent findings show that European retailers have been slower to optimize their mobile websites, despite the demands from their customers and the revenue potential of catering to their needs,” said Arish Ali, Skava CEO. “Mobile commerce is in its second wave in the US as retailers continually advance and improve on their mobile websites. Retail executives in the UK have started to realise the importance of providing optimized mobile and tablet experiences for their customers, and that is why Skava has entered the UK market at the right time to support retailers in this quest.”

Skava’s client list includes over 20% of the Top 30 Internet Retailers who have combined online revenue of over $20 billion. To learn more about Skava’s Retail solutions, visit www.skava.com