One-Click Purchases: Mobile Shopping Statistics Define Booming Trend

The mere mention of mobile shopping 10 years ago would have resulted in laughter, and perhaps a question that followed: “What can you possibly shop for on a mobile phone?” But today, it’s become a centerpiece of the e-commerce industry. Mobile web access has become such a staple to the internet-faring populous that search engine giant

Google recently mandated that all websites and e-tailers make their sites more mobile friendly … or risk getting outranked by other sites that complied.

Attesting to the might and muster of the 4G LTE powered smartphone era is a recent Marketingland report that finds that over 55% of all traffic that goes to the top websites comes from mobile devices. But just how much of a driving force is mobile commerce, also commonly referred to simply as “m commerce”? We’ll take an inside look in this breakdown of mobile shopping statistics that you may find to be quite surprising.

Here’s some food for thought: According to Trinity Digital Marketing, over 1.2 billion people use their smartphone for internet access daily. In the U.S., over half the population is estimated to have a smartphone, and almost all of those phones have internet service. With access to one-click shopping portals like Amazon, Wayfair and others, it’s easier to understand why the most recent mobile phone shopping statistics show a surge in spending.

One reason is that people like to research products from their phones before making a purchase. According to Nielson, almost 60% of shoppers actually find product information on a smartphone before converting to a sale. Naturally, with many of these products available for purchase on mobile devices, it’s not uncommon for these shoppers to simply click and buy what they want from their handset, instead of logging onto a desktop, laptop or tablet later to do the same thing. Simply put: The ease of purchases is one of the biggest lures.

With this many people relying on their mobile phones, it begs a curious question: Just how much of this mobile shopping is contributing to the e-commerce industry as a whole? According to Internet Retailer, the answer is a whopping 30%. The report cites rampant popularity in Asia, where retailers reported a gigantic increase in mobile commerce of nearly 250% from 2014 to 2015 alone.

Given that Internet Retailer has also estimated that annual e-commerce haul in the U.S. is a cool $350 billion, a safe bet is that mobile commerce is generating over $100 billion per year in America at the present. That’s no small number. The same aforementioned report also found that the top Mobile 500 retailers grew 68% in 2015, accounting for $3 billion in growth overall. With mobile commerce statistics these healthy, one can only imagine what the future holds for this burgeoning industry.

According to Invesp, there will be over 2 billion mobile commerce transactions between now and 2017. Even more interesting is the fact that over 19% of e-commerce sales are processed from a smartphone device currently, a number that will increase to 27% by 2018. But, as compared to tablets and desktops, smartphones have the lowest conversion potential, averaged at just 0.55%, with laptops at 2.06%, and tablets at 1.54% respectively.

Currently, iPhones lead the pack for the highest conversion value ($117.16), followed by Android devices ($111.70) and Windows devices ($100.91). About 15% of consumers use their smartphone as their preferred shopping device, an increase of 8% since 2014. Come the holiday season this year, 56% of smartphone users will shop and purchase gifts from their handsets.

• Over 59% of smartphone users research products from their handset before making an online purchase.
• 76% of smartphone users rely on their handset to find a store to make a local purchase at.
• 30% of global e-commerce sales will come from smartphone users by the year 2018.
• Mobile devices drive over half a billion in sales during Cyber Monday, a number that will continue to climb.
• The preferred shopping method for smartphone users is via a shopping app.
• Mobile commerce will rake in over $90 billion in sales in the U.S. by the year 2018.
• Over 50% of smartphone shoppers say they will rely on a digital wallet to make purchases this year.
• 75% of mobile shoppers redeemed coupons when shopping over the past three years.
• 84% of mobile shoppers rely on smartphones to help them when making a purchase at a brick and mortar store

It’s no surprise that Amazon is the leader in mobile commerce sales, given the fact that they are the largest e-commerce marketplace in the world. With their integrated mobile app and convenient one-click checkout options, this marketplace has taken over the m commerce industry.

A quick look at some of these numbers, as explained by Business Insider, is surprising:

• Mobile shoppers spend about 100 minutes on average browsing Amazon, as compared to just 20 minutes for Target, and only 14 minutes for Walmart.
• Customers return more to Amazon, about 6.5 times per month on average, as compared to Walmart, which sees about 2.5 returns per month per mobile customer, and Target with just 2 times per customer.

During the holidays, Amazon has shoppers locked down on their mobile devices, according to Marketingland. Of their large customer base, the retailing giants says about 70% shop online from their mobile phones during the holidays.

Even more shocking is this report by Mobile Strategies that finds that of the mobile shoppers who primarily use their phone to shop online, a staggering 61% exclusively shop on Amazon. Even more astounding is that 93% of mobile shoppers are also Amazon customers.

Mobile commerce has a bright, shiny future. In fact, in the few short years ahead, it will continue to gain more headway. A Business Insider report reflects this, predicting that by the year 2020, mobile commerce will represent 45% of all e-commerce transactions. To put it into better perspective, and as illustrated by the chart you see below, that’s nearly half the stake in an estimated $700 billion per year worldwide e-commerce haul.

The one key area where desktop shopping continues to outperform mobile shopping is with the conversion rate. One reason, experts say, is because mobile phones have such a small screen size that it inhibits conversion rates; namely because most shoppers want to look at their shopping cart again, at a later time, and from a larger screen that offers a better visual perspective of their intended purchase.

But with integrated and seamless mobile checkout options that require one click – like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, Amazon’s One-Click and more – conversion rates are expected to level out to a number that’s more consistent with desktop shopping.

Indeed, the future of mobile commerce is hearty. Chances are that you’ve made a few purchases this year already from your smartphone. And chances are equally as good that you will continue to make them more often in the years ahead.