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"Mobile spending in western Europe is set to increase elevenfold to \u20AC19.2 billion in 2017, according to a study from Forrester.\nLast year, Europeans spent \u20AC1.7 billion on mobile purchases, or 1% of total online sales. By 2017, mobile will account for 6.8% of total online sales \u2014 lagging just slightly behind the U.S.. \nThe figure includes retail products, services, gift cards, magazine subscriptions and purchases made for in-store pickup; it does not include digital content designed for immediate consumption (such as apps or ringtones), payments made at physical checkouts with phones (i.e., NFC payments or checkout system Square) nor stock trades.\nThe amount individual shoppers are expected to spend on mobile will not increase substantially \u2014 on average, European consumers will spend \u20AC227 on mobile purchases in 2017, compared to \u20AC201 in 2011 \u2014 but the total number of mobile shoppers is forecast increase dramatically in that period, from 7.6 million in 2011 to more than 79 million, or about 45% of mobile phone owners, in 2017.\n\n\n\n\nIt's no surprise that the UK will lead the charge, thanks to higher online shopping pentration and the multi-channel shopping culture that has already emerged there. Mobile revenues are expected to exceed \u00A36.1 billion in the country by 2017. Germany will lag behind because of comparatively slow smartphone adoption rates, so that only 5.7% of online purchases will be made through mobile five years from now.\nInterestingly, in southern European countries including Italy and Spain, mobile will account for an above-average share of online sales five years from now. Because broadband penetration and online shopping are currently so low, relatively speaking, mobile shopping will \"leapfrog\" web shopping as consumers adopt a \"mobile-first culture,\" Forrester says.\nAs is the case now, the most common mobile purchases will be low-cost ones: namely, physical media like books, music and films. Event tickets are another popular category. Fashion and beauty retailers are likewise forecast to see substantial growth. \nBeyond transactions, mobile will play a critical role in other areas of shopping, from locating stores to coupon redemption and price comparisons.\nTell us: Do you make purchases using your mobile device? What kind? Do you expect the amount and types of purchases you make on your phone will change significantly over the next five years?\nImage courtesy of Flickr, lululemonathletica"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/07/13/mcommerce-europe-forecast/>