Young Set Propels Mobile in Europe

Young adults are the main drivers of mobile commerce in three major European markets, according to the Mobile Marketing Association.

The New York trade group found that people aged 18 to 34 were the most likely to use their phones to make purchases in the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Of the three countries, the U.K. had the highest percentage of consumers, 19%, conducting mobile commerce, followed by 13% in Germany and 9% in France.

Twenty-nine percent of U.K. mobile commerce users were between 18 and 34, 21% in Germany and 15% in France.

Most people said mobile transactions were quick and easy to conduct, and that they were likely to continue using them.

Lightspeed Research polled 1,000 people online in each country between April 22 and 26; the Mobile Marketing Association released the report to its members in May.

"Rapid adoption of smart phones and use of [application] stores has provided fertile ground for mobile-commerce growth to date, and this will only accelerate in the coming years," Peter A. Johnson, the marketing association's vice president of market intelligence, said in a press release. "As consumers becoming increasingly comfortable and confident with paying for goods and services through their mobile [phones], it is possible to see mobile commerce becoming mainstream."

Being billed by their wireless carrier on their monthly statements was the most popular mechanism to pay for digital content purchased with phones, cited by 52% of U.K. respondents, 54% in Germany and 56% in France. However, other online payment options such as PayPal Inc. appear to be gaining in popularity, especially for purchases of nondigital products, the marketing group said.

"Clearly there is a market for mobile transactions, now and in the future, which is not just limited to mobile-related purchases but for anything that consumers might pay for over the Internet or in person," Ralph Risk, Lightspeed's marketing director, said in the release.

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