As Internet retailing expands, mobile commerce growth continues. Across a wide variety of industries and interests, it represents an ever-growing share of the total online retailing pie. But one mobile customer is not like another; some use tablets while others use smartphones. This apparently insignificant difference actually translates into some really important distinctions, as Internet Retailer illustrated this week in a detailed summary of its new 2014 Internet Retailer Mobile 500 report.
Here are some of the highlights drawn from data the magazine gathered from the 43 retailers that separated their sales data by device type. It aligns with our experience helping FastPivot customers optimize their websites and stores for an increasingly mobile world.
Mobile Commerce Sales Breakdown: Tablets 55% and Smartphone 45%
– FastPivot customer data is similar. We’ve seen it on a variety of sites, even ones that don’t provide a mobile or responsive site. Mobile shoppers generally prefer to shop using tablets than smartphone.
2013 Mobile Sales Estimate: $991 Million
– Think about this for a second. It’s what the 43 retailers expect to book from mobile commerce sales. Granted, these retailers might be a lot bigger than you, but this is almost a billion dollars spent on pretty small screens! That’s a lot of mobile commerce growth. This means that if you decided against redesigning or updating your site to be responsive, or mobile friendly, you should probably take another look.
Smartphones for Research – Tablets for Purchasing
– The data showed that smartphone are used slightly more for research than shopping, with tablets used for buying.
I think this really depends on your shopping demographic and your industry. If you’re selling to Millenials, who spend little time at home, then the smartphone is probably going to be where they shop. If your site is heavy on product and solution images, and you’ve got a strong presence on Pinterest, then shoppers are probably going to browse using their tablets. Pinterest-crazy shoppers aren’t going to squinting at cedar garden benches on a 4-inch screen.
Conversion and Average Order Values Higher for Tablets
– Mobile conversion rates reported by the 43 retailers were clearly in favor of tablets (2.63%) than smartphones (0.99%). AOV for tablet sales was $125, 18% higher than the smartphone AOV of $106.
How to Make Your World Responsive
– While forty-three retailers is a tiny slice of the total online retailing world, it’s pretty convincing quantitative evidence why every retailer should embrace mobile commerce. Mobile commerce growth will continue as tablet sales increase and more and more people become comfortable buying on a Galaxy S smartphone or iPad mini.
We’re busy helping FastPivot customers embrace their inner mobile retailer. We’d love to help you, too. If you’ve got questions about how to go mobile, give us a call.
