Branding Brand survey shows mobile commerce performance on Black Friday
Branding Brand, a leading mobil
e commerce platform used within the retail industry, has announced the results of its Mobile Commerce Index for Black Friday survey. The survey is meant to highlight the performance of mobile commerce amongst consumers on the most important day of the year for the retail industry: Black Friday. The survey shows that mobile commerce was largely successful in boosting the mobile sales within the retail industry by a significant margin.
Mobile sales up 128%
The survey accounts for 66 mobile sites developed by Branding Brand for retailers participating in mobile commerce. These retailers span a wide variety of industries and has shown a great deal of interest in engaging mobile consumers, identifying these consumers as a major opportunity for growth. The survey shows that mobile sales on Black Friday grew by 128% over what they had been in the previous year. Mobile traffic also grew by 101% over the level they had been in 2011.
Most consumers used iOS devices for mobile commerce
Branding Brand suggests that mobile commerce has played a major role in this year’s holiday season, as far as the retail industry is concerned. The survey shows that most consumers made use of iOS devices to access e-commerce sites. Android devices, especially those equipped with NFC technology, were still used and were largely responsible for purchases made within physical stores from an actual mobile device. The iOS platform does not currently support NFC technology.
Retailers may be inclined to support mobile commerce
Mobile commerce had been expected to play a significant role for the retail industry during Black Friday. Branding Brand suggests that this is the case and that the retail industry has now been shown evidence of the capabilities of mobile commerce. With Black Friday leaving many retailers in a positive financial position for the remained of the fiscal year, they may be inclined to invest more support into mobile commerce for the future.
Mobile commerce performs well on Thanksgiving day
Mobile commerce has performed well, even ahead of Black Friday. The holiday season has been expected to be a major success for the mobile commerce industry, but this success may be quickly exceeding the expectations of retailers and those invested in the mobile commerce industry itself. According to data from IBM’s Benchmark service, a platform that provides ongoing measurements of the performance of more than 500 retail companies in the U.S., shows that consumers have been eager to kick start their holiday shopping.
Data shows mobile traffic spikes on Thanksgiving
According to the data from the Benchmark service, online sales spiked 14% on Thanksgiving day, with each sale accounting for an average of $132. The data highlights a strong showing from the mobile commerce sector, where a veritable tide of consumers have been using their mobile devices to purchase products online and at the few retail locations that were open on the holiday. The data shows that the number of consumers using a mobile device to visit a retail site reached 26% on Thanksgiving day, up from the 15% it had been in the previous year.
Apple suggests shopping on holidays becoming more socially acceptable
Technology giant Apple suggests that this is largely due to the concept that mobile commerce and shopping has become more socially acceptable on the day of the holiday. In the past, shopping on Thanksgiving day may have been considered somewhat anti-social, if not wholly impossible due to it being a federal holiday. The stigma surrounding holiday shopping may be diminishing, however, as IBM sees a significant uptick in the number of consumers that are actually purchasing products from their mobile devices. Approximately 9% of all mobile traffic is coming from iOS devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, according to Apple.
Data expected to show capabilities of mobile commerce
The data from the IBM Benchmark service shows that mobile commerce certainly kicked off the holiday shopping season, which began nearly 24 hours before Black Friday. Black Friday remains the most important day of the year for the retail industry, however, and the data for such a major shopping day is expected to further show how powerful mobile commerce is becoming with consumers.
