New, Simple ‘Buy’ Buttons Aim to Entice Mobile Shoppers
Google, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, are trying to bridge the gap between mobile browsing and desktop purchasing with a simple &ldquo;buy&rdquo; button, with technology companies acting as middlemen between mobile shoppers and retailers. Many consumers find making online purchases from a mobile cumbersome, preferring to make the purchase from a desktop or a laptop.&nbsp;Mobile phones are projected to account for about half the time Americans spend online this year, but only about one-fifth of retail e-commerce sales, according to eMarketer. Google recently rolled out&nbsp;ad formats such as hotel ads that allow people to book directly inside the ad, with a buy button coming later this year.&nbsp;
SAN FRANCISCO — Denise Chapman, a director at a San Diego advertising agency, is afraid to count how many hours of each day she spends on her mobile phone, browsing for clothes or gifts. But when it comes time to actually buy something, instead of using her iPhone, she fires up an aging Dell computer that sits on a desk in her family’s kitchen.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even try” to make online purchases with a phone, Ms. Chapman said. “There’s just always something, if it’s your fat thumbs or having to redo your information. I go straight to the desktop because I feel like it’s going to be easier.”

Now several companies, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, are trying to bridge the gap between mobile browsing and desktop purchasing with a simple “buy” button.

Buy buttons have been around since the early days of the web, of course, notably with Amazon’s “One-Click Ordering,” where people set up a button that runs their credit card and ships whatever they have bought to a designated address.