Nearly a quarter of web site visits are now being made using mobile devices and Internetretailer reports that U.S mobile commerce (m-commerce) sales hit $24.66 billion in 2012, up 81% from the previous year. The figures came from EMarketer, which counts sales (other than travel and ticket sales) made on smartphones, tablets, and other devices such as Apple’s iPod Touch. The company forecasts increases of 55.7% in 2013, 35.8% in 2014, 30.9% in 2015, and 27.2% in 2016. Annual sales are expected to reach $87 billion in 2016, an increase of more than $62 billion over the 2012 figure.
Overall, retail sales using smartphones and tablets accounted for 7% of U.S. e-commerce sales in 2011 and 11% in 2012, EMarketer finds. They will represent 15% of sales in 2013, 18% in 2014, 21% in 2015 and 24% in 2016, the research firm predicts.
EMarketer explains this trend as reflecting a confluence of the (1) expanding number of smartphone shoppers whose behavior affects commerce in all channels, (2) growing number of smartphone buyers who enjoy the immediacy of purchasing through their phones; and (3) rapid rise in tablet shopping, which will produce the bulk of m-commerce sales over the next four years.
The study also examined web traffic by operating system, finding Apple’s iOS generates a majority of the mobile traffic at 52% and Android holding a 43% share.
