Study: Online holiday shoppers getting mobile

AUSTIN, Texas — It’s no secret that e-commerce is continuing to grow as a portion of holiday shopping volume. But a newer trend shows that holiday e-commerce growth is shifting away from the desktop channel.

 

According to a new survey from digital promotion platform RetailMeNot, mobile app visits and transactions closed on desktop visits and transactions during the 2014 holiday season. If the trend keeps pace in 2015, mobile visits and transactions will surpass desktop visits and transactions as a holiday e-commerce channel.

 

However, nine in 10 holiday purchases are still made in-store. Consumers are especially likely to browse apparel, home and garden, and multi-category items on a mobile device while in-store.

 

“As the majority of consumers roam the mall and shop from their couch armed with smartphones, RetailMeNot’s research also shows that retailers who invest in these digital channels will build their brands, better engage shoppers, and improve sales conversions in those mobile moments,” said Michael Jones, senior VP, retail and brand solutions, RetailMeNot.

 

Evidence from a number a sources points toward this year’s holiday season being more mobile than ever before. The 2015 Holiday Shopping Survey from Pitney Bowes shows that 49% of consumers plan to do holiday shopping with a mobile device, and data from The Rubicon Project shows a much smaller but still significant 25% of all consumers planning to make it a mobile holiday. 

 

One of the least optimistic recent studies on mobile holiday commerce, a report from Bronto Software, still shows 19% of consumers planning to use a tablet and 22% intending to use a smartphone to make purchases this holiday season.

 

Furthermore, a recent study from OneStop Marketing indicates 45% of online traffic during the 2014 holiday season came from mobile but only 20% of sales came from mobile devices, indicating a substantial opportunity to increase mobile conversion rates.