Confidence is growing among mobile shoppers and the gap between the use of the devices is closing.
One of the primary struggles that have been faced so far in the mobile shopping world is in consumer confidence, and tablet commerce has always had far greater results in this area than the smartphone channel.
Even veteran online shoppers often struggle with their confidence and comfort on the smaller screen.
For several years, tablet commerce has seen considerably greater conversions than those experienced over smartphones, as consumers using those devices are more receptive to shopping than they are on the much smaller screens. This has been especially true over the iPad, specifically, although all of the larger screened mobile devices do perform better than smartphones when it comes to shopping, overall.
It has never been determined specifically why tablet commerce has done so much better than smartphone shopping.
Smartphone conversions have traditionally lagged far behind those over tablet commerce. However, the most recent statistics are starting to show that the gap between the conversion over these two channels is starting to shrink. Though the latest Adyer platform data showed that mobile purchases grew to 52.6 percent in the May to August quarter when compared to the 46.8 percent over the quarter before.
Ayder has speculated that this could be a summer trend, but it is causing many to watch the smartphone and tablet commerce figures over the next quarter to see if they continue in the same direction.
It has been guessed that the numbers may be moving that way as people become more dependent on their smartphones than their tablets. However, it could also mean that the supremacy of tablet commerce is coming to an end and smartphone users are becoming as comfortable shopping over their devices as their larger screen cousins.
At the same time, in Asia and South America, where 10.8 percent of online transactions are from smartphones and 5.8 percent are from tablet commerce, those larger screen devices are becoming more popular in those markets. The sheer scale of those markets could shift things back to tablets yet again, though the penetration of smartphones does remain well in the lead and if consumers have become comfortable with those devices, it will help to define that sector.
These mobile devices are giving PCs a run for their money in terms of the increase in their use.
The latest tablet commerce projections have just been released by Gartner, which have revealed that the smaller handheld devices are exploding in popularity and that they may overtake laptops and desktops.
The trend has indicated that the current growth in sales is not showing any indication of slowing for several years.
At the same time, while tablet commerce is expected to grow very rapidly and continue to do so for at least several years, it is unlikely that they will become the device of choice for taking on tasks requiring greater productivity. This would require them to be equipped with peripherals and monitors, to the point that they would more closely resemble desktops and laptops than their actual tablet form.
The Gartner report is crediting the lower priced devices with the rapid growth of tablet commerce.
With the falling prices and the fact that they are relatively new to the market, they are expected to overtake PCs – which are already well established and are typically being replaced as opposed to being purchased for the first time – within the next five years.
Experts in the industry are cautioning people not to misinterpret these predictions. While it does look as though tablets and smartphones could start shipping at a rate of 2.4 billion units worldwide this year – an increase of 9 percent over last year – it doesn’t mean that the laptop has seen its day. These devices are all being used for their own unique purposes, and their affordability means that the increasingly tech savvy consumer is purchasing multiple devices as opposed to selecting one over all of the others.
This does, however, represent a meaningful shift in the way that people can shop. It means that they will have a multitude of different devices available to them when they decide to research or even purchase a product or service. For this reason, the rapid growth of tablet commerce will likely becoming increasingly important to retailers and other merchants who wish to maintain their competitive edge by providing consumers the experience that they are seeking and expecting.
