Over a third of online retail sales now via smartphones and tablets
Over a third of all online retail sales are now made on a mobile device according to a new benchmarking report from IMRG and Capgemini.
The report shows that the proportion of retail purchases made on a mobile phone or tablet rose to 34% in the first quarter of 2014 from 20% in the same period last year.
This compares with just 1% m-retail penetration during 2010 and represents growth of 3,400% over the past four years.
Visits to e-retail websites via mobile devices are also increasing, with 48% now coming via smartphone and tablet devices. This compares with 30% in the first quarter of 2013 and 45% in the previous quarter.
Other key findings include Click & Collect accounting for 14% of multichannel online sales in the first quarter of 2014, compared to 16% in the previous quarter. This is in line with the trend recorded last year when the average reached 11% in Q1, down from 12% in the previous quarter.
The average checkout abandonment rose slightly to 36% in Q1, compared with 35% in Q4. However, clothing and apparel merchants recorded a significantly lower rate of 26% – unchanged from the previous quarter.
Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, said: “The latest Quarterly Benchmarking results highlight the increasing importance of m-commerce to online retailers in the UK. The widespread adoption of mobile devices is helping to drive growth in m-retail visits to a tipping point and, although growth in m-commerce itself is settling, this is unsurprising when we consider these results are coming off an increasingly higher base.
Chris Webster, VP for consumer retail and technology at Capgemini, added: “Where retailers once invested in m-commerce platforms to gain a competitive edge, such is the ubiquity of the technology, the playing field could now be considered almost level. Whilst Click & Collect has dropped slightly this quarter, in-line with recent trends, we can expect the delivery channel to become key to retaining brand loyalty as customers will shop around for greater convenience.”
