• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, June 27, 2014

Following the money in mobile can be a bit of a chicken and egg exercise.

As mobile shoppers bounce between smartphones and tablets, merchants are challenged to keep up with which activity is happening where, at least in terms of spending.

Numerous studies show that more money is spent via tablets, though much of the shopping activity, especially in terms of research, is done on smartphones, often on the fly.

A new benchmark study now is attempting to chronicle who is spending the money, on which device and for what.

Men are spending more than women, more is being spent via tablets and orders on Apple devices are higher in value, according to the latest Shopgate mobile commerce index for Internet Retailer, which reported the final tally.

The average order value for a consumer using a tablet is $132 compared to $96 for those using a smartphone, based on the index, which comprises an analysis of the mobile activity of 5,500 retailer clients globally.

The average order value for men is $120 compared to $96 for women.

By device, the average order value for shoppers using Apple’s iOS is $115 compared to the average of $100 by Android users, which is consistent with other research.

By category, the higher spending is for technology related items with flowers and groceries at the bottom of the list. Here’s the average order value by category:

• $212 -- Computer/TV/Multimedia
• $198 -- Books, Music & Games
• $148 -- Home & Furniture
• $142 -- Office Supplies
• $113 -- Jewelry
• $93 -- Apparel & Accessories
• $77 -- Pet Supplies
• $72 -- Health & Beauty
• $72 -- Baby, Kids & Toys
• $68 -- Groceries
• $41 -- Flowers & Gifts

The amount of money spent via mobile devices, whether smartphone or tablet, is starting to become significant.

While spending via devices is substantial, the larger issue is the impact mobile is having on influencing purchase transactions at physical retailers, where most of the transactions dollars change hands.

And that is the greater impact of mobile commerce.

All the major issues relating to mobile commerce will be discussed at the MediaPost OMMA mCommerce conference in New York on Aug. 7. Hope to see you there. Here’s the agenda.