Irish slow to shop using mobile phone

IRISH CONSUMERS are slower to embrace mobile transactions than their global counterparts, as concerns about privacy persist, a new report has found. However, the survey also revealed that a growing number of consumers are willing to allow their personal information to be used if there is some perceived benefit.

The Consumer and Convergence report from KPMG, published yesterday, says consumers here are less likely to buy goods and services through their mobile phones, with only 8 per cent of respondents claiming to have done so when the survey was carried out in spring 2010. This compares to a global average of 28 per cent. This global figure compares to 10 per cent in 2008.

Ireland is also falling behind in mobile banking, with only 38 per cent of respondents saying their banks offered such a service. The global average was 58 per cent.

Mobile payments and transactions have come under scrutiny in recent months as companies such as Nokia attempt to tap the market. Closer to home, internet entrepreneur Colm Lyon’s new online payments venture Carapay will allow people to make secure electronic payments through mobile phones and web apps. The service is due to launch next year.

KPMG Ireland’s head of information, communications and entertainment, Eamonn Russell, said Ireland will probably catch up eventually in terms of the level of mobile transactions taking place, but at present, concerns persist.

“Privacy continues to be an important issue. Interestingly, while many consumers appear willing to allow their online usage patterns and personal profile information to be tracked if it were to result in lower costs or free services or content, they continue to express more anxiety about data privacy than in earlier studies,” he said.

The increase in mobile transactions will not be good news to everyone, however, and retailers could be the ones to feel the pressure. “There’s every reason to believe Ireland will end up with the same levels of mobile transactions as the global norm, so it seems inevitable that some existing business will come under pressure unless they can facilitate the likely demand for purchases,” he said.

The survey, which spoke to 5,627 people worldwide, including 300 in the Republic and 100 in Northern Ireland, also discovered Irish consumers are less willing to pay for online content than people in other countries. Only 12 per cent of respondents felt they should pay for the content they access online, compared to a global average of 43 per cent.

This figure was only lower in the the Netherlands, where 6 per cent were willing to pay for content.

Of the respondents who said they would pay for content, paying for video content was the most popular, at 56 per cent.

This was followed by music, at 53 per cent. In the 16-24 age group, this figure rose to 61 per cent.

However, content providers were cautioned in the report that consumers were willing to pay only for sections of a site rather than the entire thing.

“The expanding online and mobile sophistication of consumers both in Ireland and globally has led to major shifts in their attitudes with significant implications for many industries including technology, telecommunications, media retail and financial services,” said Mr Russell.

Despite the fact that consumers appear to be more accepting of internet advertisements, the same is not true of mobile advertising. Some 56 per cent of respondents to the global survey said they would be comfortable with advertising on their desktop, but only 42 per cent said they would feel the same if it was on their mobile phones.