Mobile To Slow Growth For Ecommerce Holiday Spending

• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 11, 2016

Consumers tend to spend less on mobile devices than on desktop, which will lead to slower ecommerce growth this holiday season, according to data released this week. In fact, the report suggests that on average consumers spend roughly 22% less on mobile than on desktop.

NetElixir dug a little deeper to arrive at these findings in its most recent report to determine the impact that the increasing use of mobile devices would have on ecommerce sales this holiday season. The company has been tracking the data since August 2008. This time it analyzed about 450 million sessions across four verticals: Food & Gourmet, Home & Decor, Gifting, and Consumer Electronics. 

While mobile shopping continues to surge, with an estimate that 30% of all online purchases will happen through mobile phones, NetElixir predicts slower-than-usual online growth for sales this holiday season.

The company estimates about 11% year-over-year growth, down from about 13% in 2014 and 2015 and 10% in 2013. The numbers reflect growth among its clients.

In addition to the increase use of mobile devices, NetElixir attributes holiday purchases in July driven by Amazon Prime Day and copied by other large retailers. The report also points to a shift of Web site sales to marketplaces and election-year uncertainties.

The report suggests that Amazon will become the big winner in holiday sales. The marketplace's share of total online holiday sales will grow by 28% -- up from about 26% in 2015 and 22% in 2014, estimates NetElixir.