Increased use of smartphones for e-commerce

The mobile revolution is nothing new – we’ve known for the past two years that mobile internet use was on the rise, with Google’s announcement that it would implement a default mobile index in 2018 as the ultimate confirmation of this sea change. What’s new, however, is the role smartphones play in e-commerce with shoppers using their devices at all stages of the buyer’s journey, from research and comparison to checkout.

Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday confirmed the unassailable truth, as Adobe reported that a record 39.9% of web traffic to retail sites originates from smartphones on Cyber ​​Monday, with a bumper of £ 1.13 billion in sales made on mobile devices – a whopping 12% higher than previous years.

Popular devices

As you would expect from the market leader, Apple devices lead the way when it comes to using smartphones for e-commerce. Cyber ​​Monday figures show that Apple users also spent more on their smartphones than their Android counterparts, suggesting that e-commerce retailers could be better served by optimizing sites and marketing campaigns for those with iPhones.

Number of people accessing e-commerce sites from their smartphone

eMarketer estimates that more than half of all UK digital shoppers transact via smartphone, making e-commerce a significant part of all online sales. In fact, the report suggests that mCommerce accounts for up to £ 35.31 billion in revenue. This number is also expected to increase as consumers become more comfortable transacting from their smartphone and mobile payment options become more sophisticated. By 2021, mCommerce is forecast to be the majority source of retail sales and forecasts suggest that it will be responsible for 56% of total mCommerce retail sales.

Smartphone visit conversions

Despite the rise in smartphone use and the rapid growth of mobile commerce, smartphone conversion rates can still be difficult to identify and in some industries are not as high as you might expect. However, there is a similar explanation for this: Consumers are omnichannel creatures by nature, and there is a long-established pattern of using multiple displays.

Mobile conversion rates are currently lower than those recorded from desktop devices, and figures from Marketing Land suggest that smartphones are responsible for only 20% of conversions. When you consider that mobiles are top of the line when it comes to actual screen time, this number seems surprisingly low. What’s important to remember, though, are the roles smartphones play in the discovery and research process, driving the ultimate desktop or tablet conversion.

Smartphones are particularly useful at micro-moments with data suggesting that optimizing key aspects of the mobile experience can lead to increases in conversion. Focusing on improving page load speed, for example, is critical to keeping smartphone users engaged, while responsive design elements like large buttons remove much of the friction preventing mobile conversions. .

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