Tag: smartphone shopping

M-commerce sees growth of 31 percent in Q1 2013

M-commerce 31 percent growthWhen compared to a year ago at the same time, mobile shopping increased by nearly a third in the first quarter.

According to the latest IBM Online Retail Index research data, m-commerce has experienced a growth by nearly a third (31 percent) in the first quarter of 2013, when compared to its size at the same time in 2012.

The report pointed out that the growing use of tablets and customer service improvements were primary drivers.

The index states that at the moment, m-commerce is making up 17.4 percent of all online retail sales. This is a notable increase over where it was a year prior, at 13.3 percent. On the whole, spending online, in general, had increased by 20 percent within that same quarter. The index found that tablets are playing an ever increasing role as a driver of shopping over mobile.

They said that m-commerce has become more comfortable as people use iPads and other tablets.

The overall m-commerce traffic, including all devices, rose by 40 percent in the first quarter of 2013. However, among tablets, specifically, there was an increase of almost 80 percent when compared to the same time last year.

The report pointed out that “This trend reflects marketers’ ability to create a positive customer experience for consumers shopping on their iPads and Kindles, by designing for the finger and making it easier for customers to browse via their mobile devices.” The results presented in this report align quite closely with other similar research that is also pointing to tablets in their growing importance for m-commerce.

Earlier in 2013, there was a forecast issued by eMarketer which stated that transactions over tablets made up 57 percent of the almost $25 billion that occurred over m-commerce in 2012. Based on that, they expected the figure to rise to reach 62.5 percent in 2013. This is also interesting as the penetration of tablets is at less than half of that of smartphones. Tablets are currently owned by approximately 20 percent of people in the United States, whereas it is believed that more than 50 percent are already the owners of smartphones.

M-commerce appeals to the busy lifestyles of moms

m-commerce appeals to busy momsThis important market has shown itself to be especially open to using smartphones to shop.

When it comes to being able to balance a very busy schedule, moms have added a secret weapon to their arsenal to get the job done, as they have become some of the broadest adopters of m-commerce.

Alliance Data Retail Services has just released their latest data which has supported this already identified trend.

The marketing driven credit card program provider recently conducted a survey and has now released its results. They have shown that moms are now, more than ever, using m-commerce to help to be able to shop more efficiently in order to be able to keep up with their busy lives. They also pointed out that this demographic is also using the devices for a number of other purposes for convenience, including texting, talking, and tagging.

The study was called the Alliance Data Mobile Moms Retail Survey and revealed considerable m-commerce insight.

It discovered that when moms are prepared to do a lot of shopping, they will frequently do so over m-commerce as opposed to having to drive to a store or mall to make a purchase. Among the respondents, 29 percent of moms stated that the primary reason that they chose their smartphones for shopping was due to the speed and ease of the process.

It has long been known that moms are the primary purchasing decision makers of a household. This includes virtually every category, from clothing to groceries and household products. Now that they are incorporating m-commerce and other mobile functions into their daily lives, it becomes important for merchants to take this channel into account in order to continue to appeal to this massively important demographic.

When it comes to the various m-commerce activities being used by moms, it includes searching for promotions and coupons, performing price comparisons, and browsing the websites of their favorite retailers. The survey also revealed that among moms who do use this channel to shop, they do so at least one time every week as a part of their overall shopping experience in some way or another.