Passengers using more time on trains to make purchases

Research commissioned by KBH On-Train Media, found that 26 per cent of commuters now use their train time to make purchases via connected devices. The purchase of luxury goods was at 16 per cent, with holidays following at 15 per cent, financial products at 11 per cent and even 9 per cent buying car-related items.

In addition, 18 per cent, or nearly one in five, made a purchase related to business travel – including travel by train – while on the train itself.

Overall, the most popular retail categories for commuter commerce were found to be clothing/footwear, bought by 39 per cent of those rail users who made a purchase, followed by groceries at 33 per cent and tickets for leisure events at 26 per cent.

The research also highlighted how effective on-train advertising is for driving immediate purchase among affluent, connected commuters. Of the 94 per cent of respondents who noticed the advertising on-train, 39 per cent said they subsequently talked to someone about products or services they saw advertised and 33 per cent made a purchase as a direct result.

Compared to all periods of time spent on the train, it was on the way to work after leaving the train when the majority of transactions were made – 33 per cent of all purchases were made at this time with only 21 per cent done immediately on the train.

Ian Reynolds, Managing Director, KBH On-Train Media, commented: “This research paints an illuminating picture of the millions of commuters going about their daily lives on trains across the UK. Smartphones are now clearly embedded as an integral part of the journey, and by putting the power to purchase in the palm of our hands, we are increasingly comfortable seeing our daily commute as a time to shop.

“The continued growth of commuter commerce, when combined with the branding strengths and contextual prompts provided by on-train advertising, mean the train journey is becoming an increasingly valuable space – not just for increasingly time-poor consumers but for advertisers and train companies too.”