Research conducted for the UK Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has found that UK consumers now see NFC as “a positive move for mobile”, with 74% of consumers stating they felt it would be a good idea. The products that consumers said they would be most happy to purchase via NFC were travel (57%), entrance fees (51%) and drinks/snacks (49%).

The research findings are based on a survey of 1,000 UK consumers’ attitudes and opinions on mobile commerce. The study also found that:

• Although general m-commerce uptake was relatively flat from 2010-2011, the amount consumers were spending per transaction on mobile increased by £5.29 (US$8.37), a rise of 43.3% to £17.49 (US$27.66).
• The reasons why people use m-commerce have also changed, as it moves away from being seen as ‘an experiment’ (25%), towards being the ‘easiest way to do it’ (42%).
• The barriers to using m-commerce in 2011 remain much the same as those identified in 2010’s survey, although the number of consumers who feel that using the mobile internet is too expensive has reduced by 16% and the preference for PC over mobile has declined by 7%.

“It has been interesting to see from this study that the same people who were using m-commerce a year ago continue to use it in 2011 — but this time are spending significantly bigger amounts on their mobile phone,” says Alex Kozloff, senior mobile manager at the IAB. “Furthermore, there is clearly a consumer appetite to use m-commerce in store, so it will be fascinating to see consumer adoption of NFC as the technology becomes more commonplace in the UK.”

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