New report lays out notable potential for mobile shopping in this region.
ConsumerLab, Ericsson has released a report that demonstrates the current potential for a rapid explosion of m-commerce throughout the sub-Saharan region of the African continent.
The company performed extensive, in-depth interviews with smartphone users to produce the report.
These interviews were held with the participation of smartphone owners in the countries of South Africa, Tanzania, and Ghana. What was discovered included four primary findings:
• Consumers in these areas are always seeking new methods of bettering their personal budgets.
• M-commerce offers speed and convenience that is highly appealing within this marketplace.
• The current social structures and behaviors suggest that smartphone payments will soon broaden in these areas.
• Consumers require a greater amount of information regarding security and functionality in terms of transactions over m-commerce.
Ericsson found that consumers want to use m-commerce to make their lives easier.
This includes being able to transfer money from one person to another, as well as to be able to purchase mobile airtime on their subscriptions. These consumers also appreciate the convenience that comes from being able to gain access to funds no matter the time or place. For example, in Tanzania, 38 percent of the participants in the research use their smartphones to make person to person money transfers.
Another primary finding of this report is that individuals who are currently using mobile commerce do not see a solid line between their business and private accounts. Ericsson ConsumerLab senior advisor, Anders Erlandsson, said that “Many consumers are entirely self-employed and are prompted to make transfers from private accounts for business purposes, so they gain experience with m-commerce.”
Among those who do not use m-commerce, the main issue that was found by the researchers that gathered the data which was used to create the report, was security. Many people in the area have yet to build a solid trust regarding the integrity of their account information in case of the loss or theft of their devices. Erlandsson believes that as personal experience and familiarity with the channel grows, so will trust and comfort levels.
