Study: Smartphones key to online shopping
NEW YORK — More and more consumers are browsing, creating baskets and making purchases from their smartphones, according to the latest Demandware Shopping Index.
Globally, phones accounted for 94% of the year over year increase in e-commerce traffic, 74% of the increase in basket creation and 47% of the order growth.
“Demandware is advising retailers that it is essential for brands to seamlessly integrate mobile into their global growth strategies, but local preferences and behaviors must be considered when entering new markets,” said Rick Kenney, industry principal at Demandware.
For example, retailers in the UK are seeing the largest boost in phone orders – with 25% of all transactions coming via phone, a 45% increase year over year. U.K. consumers are also most likely to buy on tablets. Tablet order share in the U.K. was 24% in Q2 2015, 7% higher than in any other region. Conversely France and the U.S. experienced the lowest rate of tablet orders globally with only 12% and 14%, respectively.
Shoppers are also creating more baskets than ever. Globally, basket creation is up 26% year over year. Phones are the primary driver of this trend, with the percentage of shoppers adding an item to a cart via a smartphone up 15% year over year.
With their wish lists now at their fingertips, shoppers are able to access saved items whenever they like. This means there is an opportunity for retailers to turn previously idle moments into a time for customers to make a spontaneous purchase from their basket.
Additional global findings:
The ubiquity of the phone is driving all activity on tablets down. Traffic share is down 10% year over year and order share is down 2% year over year.
The shopper journey is increasingly beginning with phones and ending with computers. Mobile browsing accounted for a 94% increase in traffic year over year, while 65% of all digital commerce orders still take place on computers.
iOS trumps Android when tablets and phones are both factored in. But looking at phones alone the gap is starting to close – with iOS only 15% higher in order and traffic share, compared to Android. iOS devices deliver only a slightly higher AOV over Android, $107 to $96.
Home goods accounted for the highest phone order share (23% globally). Health & beauty brands drove the most phone traffic (46%), but the least amount of orders (17%). Active apparel brands saw the biggest jump year over year in phone orders (+76%).
“What’s clear from this quarter’s data is the relentless move towards phones for browsing and purchasing,” said Elana Anderson, senior VP Worldwide Marketing, Demandware. “As we move into the holiday shopping season, retailers must enable personalization at every touch point - whether on mobile, online, in-store or on a social platform. The winning brands will crack the code to best engage with their mobile shoppers via highly personalized content and promotions no matter where they are in the world.”
Get the full Q2 2015 Shopping Index here.