Brazilians use smartphones for 20.6% of online shopping

Smartphones have become an alternative for online shopping, according to a survey by group buying site Groupon that heard 6,000 people in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. The survey revealed that the average online shopping rate on smartphones for these five countries is 15.6%.

Brazil was above this average and had the highest rate of shopping on smartphones among the five countries surveyed, 20.6%. Among Mexicans, who ranked second, the rate was 19.7%, followed by Colombia's 17.2%, and Chile's 12.8%. The lowest rate was found for Argentina, 8%.

While smartphones are becoming a popular tool for buying, personal computers remain the preferred choice for online shopping. The average shopping rate using computers in the five countries is 78.7%. In Brazil, shoppers choose to use computers for their online shopping 73.8% of the time, behind Argentina (88.5%) and Chile (82.7%), and ahead of Colombia (77.2%) and Mexico (71.4%).

According to IT security expert João Gondim, a professor at the Department of Computing, University of Brasília, the rising choice of mobile phones as an alternative for online shopping is a natural development. However, he warns that mobile apps are not as safe as computers. “There are myriad apps out there and most don't have security features. I haven't particularly heard of fraud in online shopping on smartphones, but you do get more exposed in general ,” he says.

If the use of mobiles for online transactions catches on, he believes the devices are likely to become safer. “It's about the apps reaching a point of maturity and how you get them into your device,” he said, noting that s must exercise care. “I know only a few people who have antiviruses on their phones,” he pointed out.

The survey further showed that confidence about shopping online is increasing. In Brazil, 37.8% of shoppers reported feeling safer than five years ago, whereas 39.45% feel slightly safer. A total 10.3% do 71% to 80% of their shopping online. Only 2.4% use the web for 91% to 100% of their online shopping. Finally, 28.6% shop online once in a year, and 28.7% do it once in a month.

Translated by Mayra Borges

*This translation was updated at 1:17 pm on August 3 in order to reflect a correction in the original story.