• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, December 31, 2012

Fab.com has quickly carved out a niche online selling a range of quirky home and fashion items from the Beardo to plaid serving spoons. Launched just 18 months ago, the online design store has amassed 10 million members already and posted 600% sales growth over the last year. Playing a big part in Fab’s rapid emergence to date has been mobile.

A slideshow posted by Fab CEO Jason Goldberg highlighting company benchmarks in 2012 points out that a third of its sales came from mobile devices (phones and tablets) this year, and more than half (56%) on Christmas Day in the U.S. It previously reported that 40% of sales on Thanksgiving came from its mobile apps.

Compare that to figures from IBM showing that Black Friday online sales via mobile overall increased to 16% this year from 9.8% in 2011. Fab still had more than twice that proportion in mobile sales last year.

The company’s focus in mobile is on its apps. Both the iOS and Android version of the app have earned four and a half out of five stars, with reviews posted to the App Store indicating that Fab has developed a devoted following.

Looking ahead to 2013, Goldberg has made leading on mobile a key goal for 2013 as mobile app use approaches parity with desktop Web use.

Given its focus on mobile, it’s surprising the company built a mobile-friendly site. It would dovetail with another of Fab's goals for 2013 -- expanding globally. Fab says a third of its sales already come from outside the U.S., mostly in Europe. Having a mobile-optimized site could help attract new mobile customers, regardless of device type, operating system or country.

Among other 2012 metrics spotlighted in the Fab presentation:

-The company has sold 4.3 million products, or 5.4 products a minute. This holiday season, it sold 17 products a minute.

- On a daily basis, two-thirds of sales are from repeat customers.

- Several days in 2012 saw sales of more than $1 million.

- 50% of Fab’s sales are home products while 20% are fashion and accessories. Jewelry and art make up more than 10% each. It now has 15,000 products for sale, up from 2,000 at the end of 2011.

- Fab has 600 employees, up from 85 a year ago.