According to a study from global financial group ING, the growth in smartphone usage is driving ‘impulse purchases’, with more than 139.5 million Europeans now regularly shopping via mobile phone, with 42% of these saying that they regularly buy ‘on impulse’, compared to just 25% of non-mobile adopters.
The study also revealed that clothing tops mobile shoppers’ hit list, accounting for 23% of items purchased, followed by electronics (21%), games (12%), holidays (11%), music (11%) and groceries (11%).
In the Netherlands, nearly half (47%) of respondents are banking on their smartphone, compared to almost a third (31%) of British people and fewer than one in five (17%) in France.
Finally, the study revealed that more people are using alternatives to cash to make purchases, with 49% of Europeans saying they use physical cash less often than they did 12 months ago and 40% claiming they rarely use it. The trend looks set to continue with 45% of consumers predicting that they will use less cash in the next 12 months.
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