29 per cent of British shoppers don’t trust the security on smartphones and tablet computers so they shop on desktop instead. This means up to 14m people are opting out of mCommerce because of safety worries about the service they are using, according to a survey by bss digital.
19 per cent of people said they will research and purchase a product using their smartphone or tablet, while 25 per cent use their smartphone or tablet for research and then buy later on a PC. 33 per cent of people aged between 18 and 34 said they research and purchase products via their smartphone or tablet computer, although just 9 per cent of shoppers over the age of 55 do the same.
Despite security fears, Londoners are the most likely group to research and buy on mobile, 28 per cent, compared to 20 per cent in Scotland, 17 per cent in the South West, 16 per cent in Wales and just 14 per cent across the rest of the South East. People in Wales are the most likely to only use their PC for shopping. 
Commenting on the results, James Southgate, client services director ay BSS Digital said that this lack of trust is reminiscent of the early days of online. “Today there a number of options businesses can use to demonstrate their security and reassure consumers that mobile payments are robust,” he said. “This can include having the highest forms of encryption, and using a payment platform that consumers are familiar with and even consider direct operator billing so the purchase is added to the phone bill.
“From the time it takes a customer to look at their potential purchase on their handset and then later log on to a PC and purchase it – they could easily have stumbled upon your competitor.”
