- July 7, 2016

Mobile App vs Browser: Why Retailers Shouldn’t Ignore Their Mobile Browser Experience

The majority of Europeans own a smartphone, making the platform a key consideration for any industry. How can retailers best leverage consumers’ consumption habits?

An analysis of the mobile landscape taken from Comscore Mobile Advisor reveals the differences in smartphone adoption in Europe, as well as the use of apps and browsers for smartphone purchases.

Smartphone ownership by market

Key Findings:

  • France and Germany lead smartphone adoption amongst the EU5 countries with over 80% of their mobile audience owning a smartphone in April 2016. Despite Italy’s relatively lower smartphone penetration, the country had one of the fastest growth rates in the past year with adoption increasing +13.4% since April 2015.
  • Along with strong smartphone ownership, consumers in Europe are also frequent mobile shoppers. The UK saw more than one third of smartphone users making an online purchase in April.
  • Mobile shoppers can often choose to purchase through either an app or browser, and whilst app minutes dominate mobile consumption as a whole, there were fewer purchases made on mobile apps than mobile browser in all five markets in April. Over 60% of mobile shoppers in the EU5 who purchased online, chose to do so via a mobile browser site.
  • Amongst the markets, UK and Germany saw the highest incidence of purchases via app at 59.3% and 52.1%, respectively.
Smartphone users who made an online purchase in a month
Access Method for Mobile Shoppers

The ability to understand how smartphones are growing as a vital commerce channel is important for retailers to optimise the right platform experience and engage their target audience. To learn more about Comscore mobile solutions including Mobile Advisor, MobiLens, Mobile Metrix, and MMX Multi-Platform, please contact us.