New report highlights the growth of mobile commerce since 2012
A new report from 41st Parameter, a global fraud prevention firm, shows that mobile commerce is experienced significant growth since 2012. The firm notes that more consumers are becoming attracted to mobile shopping due to its convenience. Shopping from a mobile device requires no waiting in lines and most online retailers do not suffer from any significant shortcomings when it comes to inventory. Moreover, mobile shopping is considered more convenient during the holiday season due to the chaotic nature of traditional shopping during this time of year.
35% increase in mobile shopping since beginning of 2013
According to the report, mobile commerce has grown by 35% since the beginning of the year, with e-commerce of all kinds growing by 15% over the same period. Approximately 8% of mobile sales were made through a smartphone, with 13% coming from tablet devices. The report notes that consumers appear to favor tablets over smartphones when it comes to mobile shopping by a significant margin.
Tablets are taking over mobile shopping
Tablets may be favored over smartphones because they offer a more enjoyable shopping experience. The larger screens are easier for consumers to manipulate, making navigating mobile retail sites more convenient. Tablets tend to offer a shopping experience that is quite similar to that provided by PCs and laptops, which may create some sense of familiarity for those that participate in e-commerce on a regular basis.
Consumers likely to replace their PCs with tablets
A similar report from Adroit Digital shows that 55% of consumers are likely to replace their PCs with tablets when it comes to mobile commerce. The benefit of tablets is that they can be used in-store, whereas a PC is a stationary device. Tablets can, therefore, easily be used by consumers to compare products and find deals being offered in a physical store or by a retailer located nearby.
Overall, the channel has shown growth of approximately 35 percent.
There have been two reports that have recently been published that have indicated that while mobile shopping is taking off, it is likely t-commerce that is having the largest impact in that area.
Smartphones and tablets are becoming an important channel for content consumption.
In this area, they are being used more often for activities such as social networking and viewing videos, but this also involves finding out information about products and comparison shopping. That said, as much as more people shop over mobile as a whole, it looks as though it is t-commerce that is headed toward taking over the channel, despite the fact that its penetration isn’t nearly as great.
Both the number of sales and the value of the purchases is greater over t-commerce than smartphones.
The first study was from 41st Parameter, and its information shows that there has been an overall increase in mobile shopping from last year to this year. Comparatively, in the whole of ecommerce, there was an increase of 15 percent. Non-mobile online shopping still made up 80 percent of the total purchases, but the share that belonged to smartphones and tablets was still notable, considering that it has increased by 6 percent when compared to the same time last year.
Another study, this one by Adroit Digital, indicated that if given the choice, 55 percent of consumers would replace their desktop computers with a tablet. More than half (52 percent) of tablet owners use their devices for watching television, while another half (50 percent) report that they also used them for seeking out information. Equally, the general manager of the company, Scott German, reported that the popularity of these devices is not surprising.
What they found notable was the shift in behavior toward using the devices for t-commerce, and viewing content, in addition to researching purchases. German stated that “If brand marketers and advertisers don’t have a plan for tablet messaging, advertising, and commerce, they can risk their brand’s relevance.” This is particularly true as 56 percent of tablet users would rather use those devices to engage with ads than on their personal computers.
