Demandware Shopping Index finds 18% rise in e-commerce shopper traffic
BURLINGTON, Mass. — Shoppers love their mobile phones as the devices are driving more orders — up 59% in the first quarter of 2015, according to the latest Demandware Shopping Index.
The latest report by Demandware, a provider of cloud commerce solutions, measures digital commerce growth and identifies the trends driving that growth based on analysis of same site activity over time.
According to the findings, shopper attraction, which measures the number of shoppers, was up 18% in the first quarter 2015 over the first quarter last year and drove 83% of the digital commerce growth. In addition, shopper spend, which combines site visit frequency, conversion rate and average order value, grew 4% in the first quarter 2015 over the first quarter last year and drove 17% of the growth. The combination of shopper spend and shopping attraction yields the Shopping Index of +23%.
Additional findings:
Mobile phone orders increased 59% in the first quarter 2015 and now account for 18% of all orders. In addition, the Shopping Index revealed that mobile accounts for 35% of all traffic, up 38% year over year.
Although mobile devices continue to be a staple in our every day lives, the duration of mobile shopping visits has shrunk to 8.4 minutes, down 43%. Year over year overall shopping episodes were also down 31% to 8.9 minutes.
Shoppers are making more visits to the same site as seen by a 9% increase in frequency of visits year over year. Traffic to digital commerce sites also spiked, as 24% more shoppers clicked or tapped in the first quarter 2015 over the previous year’s first quarter.
Overall, orders per shopper increased 6% year over year and discounts reduced order size by 13%, up 9% year over year.
“The latest Shopping Index underscores the transformative, consumer-driven changes taking place in retail,” Demandware’s SVP worldwide marketing Elana Anderson said. “Orders and visits from mobile devices are soaring and we expect to see this trend continue for the foreseeable future. To stay ahead of this evolution, retailers must find new ways to make personal, quality connections with consumers. At the end of the day, it’s all about facilitating a comprehensive experience that weaves together the shopping journey regardless of where or how the consumer is interacting – whether on a site, in-store, on their phone, on a social platform or any other interaction method.”