Making 4G cell service available to everyone in the U.K. will give retail sales a shot in the arm this year.
A study by researcher Conlumino, which was announced today by eBay, says 4G service should increase mobile shopping by 113 percent this year compared to last, and it could help retail sales in the U.K. reach 1.8 billion pounds this year.
The study notes the two biggest complaints U.K. buyers had about shopping with their mobile phones or tablets were slow speeds and bad reliability. However, 4G service should lower these barriers and encourage consumers to shop with their mobile devices.
“The arrival of universal 4G will bring with it a more immersive, instant and intimate shopping experience than ever before, putting the most exciting features of mobile retail as we know it into high definition,” notes Oliver Ropars, senior director of m-commerce for eBay Europe. “It won’t just turbo-charge the way we shop; it will truly give us the ability to shop anytime, anywhere. That means an extra 1.8 billion pounds of consumer spending up for grabs.”
That extra money could go into eBay sellers’ pockets, as the marketplace reports one-third of all eBay sales are “touched” by mobile and that shoppers buy one product every second on eBay using a mobile device.
