There are many experts in the marketing industry who feel that it won’t be long before mobile commerce dominates over PC-based sales. In fact, recent polling data indicates that there are many people who believe that this “domination” has already begun.
Recently, 2,773 American adults were surveyed* regarding their online habits. The majority of them revealed that they spend more time with their mobile devices than on their desktop computers. Rather surprising is the fact that the majority also revealed that they conduct more transactions over their smartphones than on their desktops. Case in point, the numbers indicate that the amount of online purchases conducted on mobile devices outnumbers those conducted on the PC-by more than double!
When those participating in the poll were asked which device they spent the most time with over the last year, here is what they reported:
Smartphone: 55%
Desktop: 14%
Laptop: 12%
Tablet: 8%
Gaming Console: 4%
Other: 7%
This study revealed that the majority of the purchases by these users are happening on their mobile devices. At the very least, it is a telling outcome, indicating that mobile use continues to be on the rise for not only searching, but transacting as well.
It was discovered that more of these transactions were made using applications, than using mobile sites, but certainly not by a wide margin (51% vs 49%). There were also some interesting differences when the data was broken down by age, gender and operating systems. Here are a few of the findings:
- Women are more prone than men to shop on mobile websites.
- Men make most of their smartphone purchases using applications
- Americans that fall into the 18-34 age bracket are considerably more likely to shop on mobile apps, while the 45-and-older crowd makes more purchases on websites.
- iOS users are more likely to shop on mobile websites, while Android users tend to shop on mobile apps.
When asked which device they were more likely to use to make a purchase, the answers indicated this:
Smartphone: 54%
Desktop or laptop computer: 23%
Tablet: 14%
Other connected devices: 9%
Another effective tool to promote mobile transactions is push marketing. In fact, almost 21% of the survey respondents reported that they had completed a purchase using a smartphone after having received a promotional email. Text (18%) or marketing push notifications (17%) are also effective means to entice purchasers to make transactions.
Recent data indicates that currently, approximately 75% of all email is read on smartphones. This is an indicator that brand marketers are losing out on valuable traffic, as well as revenue, if corresponding mobile sites and landing pages aren’t optimized for mobile customers.
Also, three of the most pertinent factors to these mobile users, when it comes to shopping on their smartphones, are easier navigation, increased speed and enhanced security. It was the older users that were more concerned about security, while the members of the younger crowd had more interest in faster, more simple, user experiences.
*Study was conducted by Fluent, a cogent company