13.5m users across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), accounting for 5.8 per cent of all mobile subscribers, accessed online retail sites in the three month average period ending May 2011, according to the latest figures from comScore. In the EU5 region, the number of smartphone users accessing online retail sites has increased by 80 per cent over the past year. This growth is even stronger in the UK, with a 163 per cent increase in smartphone users accessing retail sites since May 2010.

“Over the past year, online retailers enjoyed strong growth in visitation from mobile devices in Europe, largely driven by the acceleration in smartphone ownership,” says Jeremy Copp, comScore Europe vice president for mobile. “This trend represents both an opportunity and a threat for retailers. While mobile access offers retailers incremental occasions to engage with customers, it also provides customers the ability to easily compare prices at competing retailers while inside a particular retailer’s store. Retailers must get a firm handle on mobile shopping behaviour if they are to effectively navigate this changing environment.”

In addition to accessing online retail sites, mobile consumers also accessed auction sites and shopping guides on their mobile devices. Over the three-month average period ending May 2011, 6.3 per cent of all EU5 mobile users reported having accessed an online auction site and 5.1 per cent also reported having accessed online shopping guides.

Across the EU5 markets, the UK had the highest penetration for the three mobile retail categories. Approximately one in 10 mobile users in the UK (10.5 per cent) reported having accessed auction sites. A similar percentage (9.2 per cent) accessed online retail sites, and 5.7 per cent accessed shopping guides. The number of mobile users accessing online retail sites grew by 118 per cent over the previous year, a rate that is even more pronounced among smartphone users (up 163 per cent). The UK also displayed the most growth for users accessing auction sites (up 95 per cent), and shopping guides (up 71 per cent);

Second only to the UK, the German mobile market also displayed significant increases in users accessing auction sites (up 44 per cent); online retail sites (up 45 per cent); and shopping guides (up 42 per cent). The growth in mobile retail activity in Germany is similarly more pronounced among the subset of smartphone users, as the number of users reporting having accessed auction sites, online retail sites or shopping guides approximately doubled in each of those categories. Such growth coincides with strong gains in smartphone ownership, which grew 63 per cent in Germany and 56 per cent in the UK over the past year.

An analysis of mobile browser versus app usage provides additional insight into the growth in mobile retail penetration. Across all markets, auction sites, online retail sites and shopping guides were accessed through a browser by a greater percentage of smartphone owners when compared to app access.

Browser usage was more pronounced in France, Italy and Spain, with apps used by less than 3 per cent of smartphone users in these three markets. Germany showed relatively high percentages of app access for mobile retail activities, although a larger share of smartphone owners still reported using browsers. A notable exception to this is the UK, where the percentage of smartphone owners that reported using apps to access auction sites (11.6 per cent) was higher than the percentage that reported using browsers (10 per cent).

“With mobile browsers still driving mobile retail activity in Europe, retailers hoping to capitalize on this trend should first look to develop a mobile-optimized website if they haven’t already,” says Copp. “Apps, which often provide a more powerful and intuitive interface than browsers, will become increasingly important – especially as consumers begin to transact over their phones with greater regularity.”