65 percent of smartphone users indulge in mobile shopping

A recent survey was conducted in April by First Data Corp-ICICI Merchant Services on 4,000 people across 10 countries, including India, to study shopping trends via smartphones. The report highlights that as many as 78 percent of the users compare their products while in the store on their smartphone before making a purchase. The report stated that about four-fifths of all smartphone users have at least one retailer app on their mobile phones.

The study also revealed that online banking has increased in the country in spite of security risks. About 68 percent of the respondents had their bank's mobile app updated on their phones and three quarters of the smartphone users expect their banks to provide online banking services. Half the respondents felt that it was safe to use their mobiles for online purchases while at the store. About 66 percent of the users had privacy concerns however 55 percent were still willing to share their details to receive offers and deals from different stores.

Nitish Asthana, executive director at First Data Corp, told PTI, "Given the unique proliferation of mobile phones in the country, an increasingly large number of Indians are turning to mobile phones as their first daily touch point to the internet. In a lot of cases, the number of users of mobile devices is growing faster than web traffic. For an e-commerce company to keep pace with market trends, the mobile phone has become an important conduit".

India has become the third largest smartphone market globally with a 163 percent increase in sales of smartphones in the first quarter of 2013. This rapid increase has come due to improved distribution network of mobile vendors like Samsung and Apple as well as domestic players like Micromax and Spice. Micro vendors like Lemon Mobile have also seen a tremendous increase in sales with a 1,000 percent growth, year on year.