Cyber Monday becomes the most successful online retail day ever
Cyber Monday has come and gone in the U.S. and the mobile sector experienced impressive growth on what is widely considered to be the most important day in electronics retail. IBM has released a new report concerning Cyber Monday of 2013, suggesting that it has become the largest online shopping day in history. Mobile commerce played a major role in the success of Cyber Monday and consumers have shown their strong interest in shopping for products online using their mobile devices.
Consumers show favor for mobile shopping
Mobile commerce has become a major interest to the retail industry. Many retailers were encouraged to take the mobile sector more seriously after the holiday shopping seasons of 2011 and 2012. Over the past two years, consumers have shown that they are not only willing to shop online with their mobile device but are quite eager to do so because of the convenience that it represents.
Online sales reach new heights
According to the report from IBM, online shoppers in the U.S. spent more than $2 billion on Cyber Monday. A significant portion of this spending came from mobile devices. The report shows that online sales grew by 20% over what they had been on Cyber Monday in 2012. Consumers had reported that mobile shopping helped them avoid lines at physical stores and purchase products without having to worry about limited supplies.
Retailers show more interest in mobile commerce
Economic research firm IHS Global Insight released a report last week highlighting the growth of online sales during the 2013 holiday season. The report estimates that online sales for the whole of the holiday season will reach $81 billion by the end of this year. This represents a 12.5% increase in sales over what had been reported during the 2012 holiday season. Mobile commerce is expected to play a large role during the holiday season, especially as more consumers begin growing comfortable with the concept of purchasing products online with their mobile devices.
Smartphones were the most popular mobile commerce platform for most consumers. Many favored iOS devices for their mobile shopping forays, but Android devices have been growing more popular for mobile commerce in recent months. The report shows that the majority of mobile sales came from consumers based in Atlanta, Georgia.