4G users ‘more likely to shop from their smartphone’

Over two thirds (68%) of 4G users feel that faster access to the internet encourages them to make more purchases from their smartphone, according to the latest consumer research from Voice of the Customer specialist eDigitalResearch and online retail body IMRG.

Latest results reveal that 4G users are much more engaged with the online and digital retail sphere than their 3G smartphone counterparts. Over half (54%) of 4G users surveyed have shopped online from their mobile compared to just under a third (32%) of non-4G smartphone owners. Similarly, almost three quarters (70%) of 4G users have browsed retail websites from their mobile, compared to under half (48%) of non-4G users who have done the same.

According to the results, around 1 in 5 (19%) of consumers now own a 4G enabled smartphone device – 62% of whom have used 4G to access the internet when browsing from their mobile- compared to just 9% of consumers who had access to the technology this time last year.

Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, said: “With over half of 4G users having shopped via their smartphones, compared with around a third of their 3G counterparts, it is clear that faster access brings a higher level of customer engagement via mobile. During the mid-2000’s we saw a similar trend in overall e-retail, when the adoption of faster broadband connections resulted in a surge in online sales.”