UK retailer Marks & Spencer has topped the overall league table in the second mCommerce benchmark study, undertaken by eDigitalResearch.

The company assessed the shopping process on both optimised and non-optimised mobile sites, looking at first impressions through to product delivery. Results show that general customer satisfaction with the end-to-end mobile journey is starting to increase, as retailers invest more heavily in the channel. However, the report concludes, mCommerce still has a considerable way to go to rival more established online platforms adding that some retailers, such as Waitrose, despite developing an mCommerce site, are “confusing and complicating” the mobile journey by limiting shoppers to certain product ranges.

“With the popularity of smart devices set to continue growing, more and more retailers are now developing mCommerce sites to facilitate shopping on the move,” says Derek Eccleston, research director at eDigitalResearch. “As we continue to witness a MEcommerce revolution, where people are now able to dictate to retailers how, where and when they shop, it is essential that browsing and shopping via a smart device is quick and simple, yet provides the same functionality and design as a retailers standard website accessed via a PC.”

Marks & Spencer offer mobile consumers a practical mCommerce site, gaining an overall score of 88.8 per cent, improving on their second place 86.8 per cent in the initial study back in September 2010. The company’s keyword search allows users to refine and filter results quickly and easily, while its product pages offer a condensed and compacted version of the standard web pages.

Shopper feedback conclusively shows that while they prefer the usability of a mobile-optimised site, they still favour the design, style and appeal of a standard website. “First impressions” (of the mobile site) was the worst-performing section, with retailers achieving an average score of 76 per cent, highlighting the continued investment  and development needed from retailers in order to match their online counterparts.

The results highlight  the fact that retailers need to be offering consumers a seamless journey across all channels, including mobile platforms. Comments show that shoppers expect the same experience that they are accustomed to, both online and on the high street.

You can download the full report here.