Mobile Drives Nearly Half Of E-Commerce Traffic, But PC Still Rules Sales — Report

Traffic from mobile devices is now nearly 50 percent of overall online U.S. retail traffic according to the latest data from IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. IBM reported on Valentine’s Day shopping and e-commerce trends compared to a year ago.

Perhaps given the freezing temperatures and snow in parts of the East and South, online shopping rose just over 10 percent vs. last year in the run up to Valentine’s Day.

The company said that “mobile traffic accounted for 46.5 percent of all online traffic, up 26.5 percent compared to the same period last year.” Mobile commerce was 23 percent of all online sales, which was up 35 percent over last year. StatCounter shows overall mobile traffic in the US at roughly 37 percent.

According to IBM tablets delivered a larger percentage of online sales vs. smartphones, which saw considerably more traffic:

Smartphones drove 33.7 percent of all online traffic compared to tablets at 12.4 percent, making it the browsing device of choice. When it comes to making the sale, tablets drove 12.4 percent of all online sales while smartphones accounted for 10.7 percent. Tablet users also averaged $98.56 per order, versus smartphone users, who averaged $92.37 per order.

As with holiday 2014 the larger share of mobile traffic and commerce came from iOS devices. IBM said that iOS devices drove 3X the e-commerce sales of Android. Apple users spent just under $100 per order vs. $79 for Android users.

Source: IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.