ASIA-PACIFIC: Mobile users in Asia-Pacific are more likely than those in other regions to make a purchase using their device but, a survey says, they are also less likely to be satisfied with the experience.

The findings emerged from a global survey, conducted by the IAB, of 3,800 respondents in 19 countries, including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore, which reported that mobile shopping has become the norm around the world.

Nowhere is this more true than in China, where 44% of respondents indicated they bought items using their mobile device every month.

But the study found that only three in four APAC consumers were satisfied with their mobile purchase, compared to four in five globally; in Singapore and China, respondents were 50% more likely to have had a bad buying experience.

So, despite the enthusiasm for m-commerce in the region, APAC consumers were 11% less likely to make a repeat mobile purchase in the next 6 months.

Various reasons were given by past purchasers, including the process being too slow or too difficult, while high transaction costs and unstable mobile networks added to their frustrations. Non-buyers cited concerns around security and privacy.

With the key motivations for mobile commerce being convenience and value, there is clearly scope for the region's retailers to deliver an improved mobile experience.

That is also the case for advertisers who continue to adopt a "spray-and-pray" approach to mobile which is less effective than anywhere else in the world: 28% of the study's APAC respondents had not interacted with a mobile ad in the previous six months, compared to a global average of 24%.

"Many markets in APAC are mobile-first, and consumers are now mature online buyers with more discerning tastes than the global average," observed Miranda Dimopoulos, CEO of IAB Singapore.

"Advertisers who make an effort to understand their needs and craft the right messages have a tremendous opportunity to cut through the noise and seize market share," she said.

Data sourced from Mumbrella; additional content by Warc staff