This American data was reported in the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark.
IBM has released its Digital Analytics Benchmark which looked into the mobile commerce sales that occurred on Christmas Day and has revealed that once again the largest number of purchases were made by devices based on Apple’s iOS operating system.
Overall, there was an increase in online shopping in the United States of 16.5 percent over last year.
That said, what they underscored as being most notable was the number of mobile commerce sales and the increase that occurred between Christmas Day last in 2012 and in 2013. Smartphone and tablet based purchases made up 29 percent of all of the online purchases that took place on that day. This was a notable increase from the 21 percent that was seen the year before.
iOS stood out as completely dominant in mobile commerce sales on Christmas Day 2013.
On that day, iOS came out far stronger than Android. Apple devices were the source of a tremendously higher percentage of the online purchases than those based on the Google operating system. In fact, the iOS share was five times greater than that of Android. Among all online sales, Apple’s devices were the source of 23 percent, and Android devices made up 5 percent of the purchases.
When focusing exclusively on mobile commerce sales, iOS devices represented a tremendous 83 percent, in comparison to a measly 16 percent from Android devices. This, despite the fact that the number of Android devices far outnumbers that of Apple devices. Android currently represents 51 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, leaving Apple way behind, but it still looks as though iOS is a market that can be monetized far more easily. Beyond the number of conversions, it is also the amount of traffic that was greater from Apple smartphones and tablets.
Furthermore, it was notable that tablets generated almost a fifth of the number of online sales on Christmas Day. This is much higher than the 9.3 percent from the same day the year before. This is surprising as there are far more smartphones than tablets.
Google continues work to establish mobile commerce presence
Despite a turbulent launch, Google Wallet continues to show signs of life as Google works to establish a commanding presence in the mobile commerce sector. The Google Wallet’s launch was plagued with serious security issues that threatened the financial information of consumers that used it. This caused many people to avoid the mobile commerce platform for several months after its launch, despite the fact that Google had resolved its security issues within a matter of days. Over the past few months, Google Wallet has been able to attract more users, and Google has been introducing new features to the mobile commerce platform.
Google Wallet receives new features, but may not be able to compete with Apple
Google Wallet now has the ability to facilitate money transfers. The platform is also able to store digital material offered through various loyalty programs that are common within the retail industry. The platform allows users to redeem their rewards through such programs in an convenient fashion. The Google Wallet does, of course, facilitate mobile payments as well. Notably, however, the Wallet does not have a companion application for the iOS platform, which may be an issue considering Apple’s interest in mobile commerce.
iOS 7 puts emphasis on Passbook
Last week, Apple unveiled the iOS 7, which puts some emphasis on the company’s Passbook. The Passbook platform is very similar to the Google Wallet in that it can store digital information from loyalty programs, travel tickets, and other such data. Unlike the Google Wallet, however, the Passbook cannot currently support mobile payments, though it is designed to do so. While Apple has not shown direct support for mobile commerce due to security concerns and other issues, the iPhone is a popular mobile commerce platform. A recent study from AdTruth shows that 57% of mobile commerce purchases were made from iPhones during the first half of 2013.
Lack of NFC support may actually put Apple in the lead
Apple may be establishing a strong edge in the mobile commerce space through a lackadaisical support of third party mobile payment services. The vast majority of these services are not based on NFC technology because the iPhone itself does not support NFC. Google Wallet, however, does make use of this technology. This means that the Wallet can only be used by NFC-enabled mobile devices, which are still very rare when compared to the iPhone.
