Commentary

Smartphone Shopping: 35% of Traffic, 18% of Orders

Thanks to mobile, people no longer go shopping; they always are shopping.

Website visits per shopper in the first quarter were up 9%, largely because of cross-device shopping, based on the latest tracking index.

Smartphones now account for 35% of all traffic and 18% of orders, according to the quarterly Demandware shopping index.

The report measures digital commerce and is based on an analysis of the shopping activity of more than 200 million shoppers worldwide and includes shopper frequency, conversion rates, average order values and net change in shoppers.

The two key index indicators, attraction and spend, both are up with digital commerce continuing to drive growth. The report notes that the rise in the number of online shoppers is yet another indicator that digital commerce is the engine behind retail.

As I have previously noted here, the Mobile Shopping Life Cycle involves a massive behavioral shift in shopping patterns.

Shopping is no longer a serial process but become iterative, thanks to smartphones. Consumers can shop anywhere at any time. And they do.

On a global basis, desktop activity still leads smartphone and tablets, though the Demandware report notes that smartphones are on pace to overtake all. Here’s the activity by device in the first quarter:

Traffic

  • 51% -- Desktop
  • 35% -- Smartphones
  • 13% -- Tablets

Orders

  • 66% -- Desktop
  • 18% -- Smartphones
  • 16% -- Tablets

Merchants have to deal with multi-device shoppers as well, since 21% of shoppers visited the same site with more than one device in the quarter, an increase from 18% a year ago.

The study found that the average time spent at a site via mobile device is 8 minutes.

Apple devices lead Android in both traffic (68%) and orders (76%), though markets vary.

Smartphone shopping isn’t yet at the front of the line, but it’s getting there.

2 comments about "Smartphone Shopping: 35% of Traffic, 18% of Orders".
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  1. Sona Sharma from ZineOne, June 16, 2015 at 1:03 p.m.

    This study reiterates what we have been hearing for a while that retailers can no longer relegate mobile strategy in the nice-to-have category anymore. While desktop still leads when it comes to actual transactions the percentage of consumers using mobile to transact has been steadily going up. I believe these numbers will jump once brands have the ability to view their customers profile across all channels and interact with them accordingly. We need to make the shopping experience as smooth and frictionless for customers as possible to truly monetize the mobile channel. 

  2. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, June 16, 2015 at 7:52 p.m.

    Right, Shona, and mobile also is playing a more significant role all along the shopping journey.

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