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In 2013 we wrote about an eBay study that the arrival of 4G in the UK would boost the retail economy by around £1.8bn per year. 10 years on, and the arrival of 5G, have we seen this prediction come true?
2023 update
Move over 4G, 5G is here. Despite a mixed reception, 5G is being rolled out across the UK, with EE heading up the move to make the superfast wireless technology available in every town and city across the country. With the advent of 5G, and the majority of the UK still able to access 4G, have we seen a boost in retail?
It is certainly true that 4G opened up new avenues of “shopping on the go” for mobile users, as the previous 3G technology was often unable to load web pages that were necessary for online shopping. For years, many of us have relied on 4G technology to keep us connected and able to access websites, apps and services wherever we are, and 5G is the next step on this journey. However, it doesn’t seem that the coming of 5G will introduce the same sort of retail boost that 4G did, as most of us do already have sufficient access to shop online when we want to, wherever we are.
That isn’t to say that 5G won’t bring benefits to online consumers – increased speeds, richer customer experiences and less concern about losing signal are all benefits of using the 5G network. However, it is unlikely that retail will see the same level of boosted activity as when 4G became widely available from the introduction of 5G alone – especially as the current EE plan to cover all of the UK with 5G won’t be complete until 2028!
Since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, online shopping has been on the rise and despite the full lifting of restrictions and vaccination programme in the UK, many have not returned to shopping in-store. This in itself has contributed massively to increased shopping online as well as the shift to flexible remote working which means that many use their home Wi-Fi networks more than ever, and do not rely in the same way on wireless internet in the way they did in 2013/2014.
Source: https://newsroom.bt.com/ee-to-offer-5g-solutions-across-the-entire-uk-as-bt-group-unveil-new-mobile-and-convergence-ambitions/
2013 post
4G ‘to bring £1.8bn retail boost’
A new study by eBay is predicting that the arrival of universal 4G in the UK could boost the retail economy by around £1.8 billion over a year. The boost represents a 113% year on year uplift in mobile shopping compared to 2012.
The study of over 2,000 UK consumers found that the opportunity is being driven by changing consumer behaviour, with 55% of consumers using their devices more for shopping now than this time last year. While the research found that just under a third of all UK adults use a smartphone for some aspect of their shopping journey, around one in ten use a smartphone for making purchases.
The study, compiled for the online marketplace by retail analysts Conlumino, reveals that the major frustrations for UK mobile shoppers are speed (50.3%) and reliability (49.6%). With the arrival of universal 4G predicted to help to break down barriers and increase consumers’ likelihood to shop via their smartphones or tablets, Ebay is calling on retailers to get their businesses 4G ready.
