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Well one reason might be because iPhones are pretty expensive. If people can afford that, then they do have tendency to shop online. They have money!

On the other hand, Android is distributed in tons of low end devices too, making a smartphone available in the hands of a person who did not think he'd have one and he's unlikely to shop online. And such users do make a large user group.

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That was the first reason that popped into my head as well. It is also a possibility that iPhone users are more comfortable with transmitting their payment information through cell towers (I do not know if this is true, but as an Android user with an aversion to "shopping" on phones I am led to speculate it at least).

Responding to the article directly: I hardly believe that the absence of shopping on a phone turns it from smart to dumb. There are in fact far more interesting activities to engage in on a phone than simply buying items (i.e. reading a book, browsing the web, taking photographs, emailing/texting, etc.)

Exactly!

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