Google: 25% of smartphone users in top markets have made a purchase on their handset

Google has published some new research today, looking at mobile consumer behaviour in six top markets: the USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Japan.

The results show that a quarter of smartphone Internet users in these markets have made a purchase from their phone.

Japan is the most savvy when it comes to m-commerce, with 40% of smartphone Internet users having made a purchase from their phone. The figure was 34% in the USA, and around 25% in the European countries studied.

There’s plenty of repeat business too, Google says that 50% of those who have made a mobile purchase do so at least on a monthly basis. In Spain, the figure is 64%, with 15% purchasing on a weekly basis. Around 20% of smartphone users surveyed in all six countries had made a purchase after looking for local information, either in-store or online.

These figures look rosy for mobile commerce, although it’s worth noting that Google doesn’t go into whether on-device app purchases are included here or not.

Mobile and the offline world

Mobile phones affect our bricks-and-mortar shopping behaviour too. In France, 26% of smartphone owners take their handsets with them to help with product research and compare prices, with 19% saying information found on their phone has changed their mind about a purchase decision.

Offline factors influence mobile search behaviour, too. The research found that in the markets studies, around 60% of smartphone users search from their phone because of an ad they’ve seen offline or in a store. In Spain, this was most prominent, with 68% having searched because of something they saw offline, and 62% because of something they saw on TV.

49% of German smartphone users have searched due to things they’ve seen in a store, while in France, 34% have carried out a mobile search due to an ad in a magazine.

Google’s ‘Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users’ research was conducted last month in collaboration with Ipsos. It follows a study from mobile ad network InMobi yesterday, which showed that mobile media consumption is overtaking the time mobile Web users spend watching TV.