Mobile visits surpass desktop visits for the first time
With the advent of smartphones, tablet computers and other Wi-Fi enabled products, it’s no wonder that we have become fairly attached to our mobile devices. Whether we’re at home, commuting, on lunch or on the go, there’s a good chance we’re checking news, emails and shopping with the stroke or swipe at our screens. It is reasonable to assume that the amount of mobile visits (hits) have been increasing rapidly.
Now that mobile devices have become the bread and butter of myriad forms of social and business communication, it was only a matter of time before these electronics changed the world of commerce in the same way that the internet did during the dot.com boom. According to the Branding Brand mobile commerce index which accounts for more than 90 percent of total web visits to ecommerce retailers, mobile platforms have finally achieved 51 percent of total visits to these sites and edging out the traditional desktop for the first time. This research is based on an analysis of 129 million site visits, 1 billion page views and 3 million total orders from ecommerce retailers accounting for revenue exceeding $350 million across a sample of 26 major North American brands in industries like health and beauty, home goods and apparel.
The statistics and trends tell the story
When Branding Brand’s mobile commerce index was put into place four years ago, desktops accounted for more than 90 percent of total visits, and this has quickly changed in a very small amount of time. Additionally, with online ordering becoming much easier for mobile device users, revenue has grown by 89 percent over the course of a single year for ecommerce retailers, as well as a 24 percent rise in visits overall.
In terms of the mobile devices that are driving this uptick in sales and website visits, smartphones represent more than a third (36 percent), while tablets come in at 15 percent. Retailers credit the increased use of mobile devices in everyday life, as well as the popularity of apps that can be used in-store and out, bringing in traffic from social media websites and incentive programs that are easily accessed from most mobile devices.
What does this mean for marketers? First and foremost, putting into place a mobile-friendly web design format is a must, as well as accompanying applications and incentives that will allow them to take a multi-platform approach to a company’s offerings. These steps are vital, but are won’t add up without steps to track and optimize mobile engagement with online analytics tools to monitor progress and make changes as necessary. What isn’t up for debate is the fact that mobile devices are going to increasingly take over more market share, and the faster that ecommerce companies can adjust, the sooner they will see improved ROI.
