Australians want more mobile commerce services

A sizeable majority of Australian mobile users want to be able to use their smartphones to conduct more transactions with businesses.

A survey from SAP shows that 66% of Australian respondents would like to increase their mobile transactions with banks, telcos, retailers and other companies.

This is the second-highest result of any mature market surveyed - which also included Japan, Germany, France and the UK.

Usage habits are increasing in Australia, with 47% of respondents indicating that they use their mobile phones for more activities besides calls and texts now than they did a year earlier.

“Consumers are rapidly adopting a mobile-first approach to engaging with their preferred brands and service providers,” SAP Australia and New Zealand Head of Mobility Selim Ahmed said.

But security concerns and the hassle of entering personal information serve as some of the largest deterrents to greater use of mobile commerce services.

Ahmed said this result proves that “organisations must address privacy and security concerns to remain relevant. In Australia and New Zealand, we are seeing that businesses who are leading in mobile are building brand affinity, gaining market share and enabling new revenue streams.”

Nearly four in 10 Australian respondents also cited a lack of mobile internet access to be a barrier - more than any other mature market. Likewise, just 36% of Australians report accessing the internet at least once a day on their mobile devices, well below the global average of 50%.

Banking is leading the mobile commerce charge in Australia. Just under half of mobile users have used their devices to pay a bill or make a bank transfer and 38% have used a device to set up an account.

In the retail sector by comparison, 36% of Australian mobile users have used their device to purchase entertainment services, 32% have downloaded music, 29% bought books or e-books and 27% have purchased attire.