Much as online merchants are touting the benefits and convenience of mobile payments in China, shopping enthusiasts are mostly reluctant to pay via their mobile devices.

"The disproportionate growth of mobile e-commerce is mainly due to the stalled (mobile) payment, which largely dulls efficiency and user experience," iResearch chief analyst Cao Junbo said in an exclusive interview with China Daily on Thursday.

Statistics from iResearch Group, a Beijing-based consulting firm, show that mobile e-commerce transactions in the first quarter took up only 7.6 percent of total online sales, which climbed 36.6 percent year-on-year to hit 352 billion yuan ($56.89 billion) in the same period.