Mobile now accounts for all online retail sales growth: new study
New research has suggested that online retail has reached a tipping point with all online growth coming from sales via mobile devices.
IMRG and Capgemini, which together publish the monthly IMRG-Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, have for the first time been able to strip out all mobile data from overall online retail sales. The analysis reveals that since the first quarter of 2011, total online retail has averaged around 15% growth, while figures excluding mobile transactions have seen a steady decline to flat-line in the second quarter 2013. It also shows that 23% of all online retail sales in the second quarter of 2013 came from mobile devices.
IMRG and Capgemini are now raising their forecast for online sales in 2013 to 15% growth, due to the fast growth of mobile commerce.
The figures show that while tablet devices accounted for 85% of mobile sales in the year-to-date, smartphones saw the biggest rate of growth, rising 210% compared with 130% for tablets during the second quarter of 2013 over the same period in 2012. In addition, the retailers surveyed reported that the lines between mobile technology are becomingly increasingly blurred as tablets become smaller, smartphones get larger and laptops can be converted to tablet devices.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, said: “Online retail is a sector that sometimes receives a strong boost from supporting technology and mobile is certainly providing that at the moment. The latest findings, together with the continuing trend of triple-digit growth in mobile commerce, provide clear evidence of a culture change in digital shopping. Smartphones and tablets offer the kind of experience the modern consumer wants – quick access, wherever and whenever they want it. Second screening in front of the TV has turned online shopping into a leisure activity that is fully compatible with our home entertainment lifestyles.”
Commenting on the analysis, Dune e-commerce director Kate Smyth said: “The findings from the IMRG study completely agree with what we have been seeing at Dune, mobile and tablets are becoming the dominant devices used to interact with a brand online. Mobile has been our priority for a while and the possibilities are really exciting. We have a mobile version of the site, developed content designed for touch and we use mobile technology in store to help locate stock and reduce queues – but the roadmap for mobile and tablets is key as the devices become part of every household.”
