China is leading the US when it comes to mobile commerce, with nearly twice as many Chinese consumers making a mobile purchase over the previous 12 months than their American counterparts, a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) says.

Both countries have achieved near-full adoption of digital commerce, with more than 80% of consumers in each nation saying they had bought a product or service digitally over the last year.

Meanwhile, payments in China are much more likely to take place via a digital payment service like PayPal or WePay, or a mobile wallet service like Apple Pay.

The researchers from IAB say that, despite the strong lead in mobile commerce in China due to its “mobile-first culture”, they are now seeing “tremendous year-over-year upticks in terms of mobile growth in the US. We expect to see that trend extend to US mobile commerce going forward.”

Among the key findings of the ‘Understanding Digital Commerce in the US and China’ report are:

• 89% of Chinese digital users ages 18+ and 84% of US digital users aged 18+ say they have bought a product or service digitally over the previous 12 months.

When it comes to mobile commerce:

• 67% of Chinese digital users have made a mobile purchase over the previous 12 months versus 34% of US digital users;
• 24% of Chinese mobile shoppers purchase via mobile every day versus 15% of US mobile shoppers;
• 89% of Chinese mobile shoppers are interested in making a mobile purchase over the next month versus 78% of U.S. mobile shoppers;
• In China, payment is much more likely to take place via a digital payment service like PayPal or WePay (47% China versus 15% US on computer; 36% China versus 17% US on mobile) or a mobile wallet service like Apple Pay (21% China versus 2% US);
• Chinese shoppers are also more likely to make a purchase via a messaging app (29% China versus 16% US)

The digital shopping landscape:

• Digital purchases account for 59% of all monthly purchases in China and 42% in the US;
• Of those purchases, 48% are made via mobile in China and 26% in the US;
• Only 13% of Chinese digital shoppers and 30% of US digital shoppers feel completely safe shopping digitally;
• Americans shoppers are more concerned about information safety and privacy, while Chinese shoppers fear digital fraud and scams;
• Chinese digital shoppers are more likely to buy from sites or apps that highlight discounts (63% China versus 37% US) or that allow them to compare prices from different sites or apps (51% China versus 29% US).

“This study confirms that mobile is a crucial and growing part of the ecommerce experience,” says Anna Bager from IAB.

“While China has always been a mobile-first culture, as their initial adoption of the internet was driven by mobile devices, we are now seeing tremendous year-over-year upticks in terms of mobile growth in the US. We expect to see that trend extend to US mobile commerce going forward.”

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