Reports: MCommerce up 35%, are tablets taking over?

First, from 41st Parameter, new data shows mobile commerce increased 35% between 2012 and 2013; overall there was a 15% increase in ecommerce. The data shows 8% of purchases were made from smartphones and 13% from tablets. Non-mobile shopping still accounted for 80% of purchases in 2013 but that is a 6% decrease over 2012.

Mike Gross, senior manager of risk strategy and professional services at 41st Parameter said, “We are interested in tracking the migration of ecommerce to smartphones and tablets,” said Gross. “Our approach was to review millions of transactions occurring during the busiest online shopping period of the year and compare them with the same period last year. What we noticed were some very significant changes from 2012 to 2013. The most notable was a 50 percent increase in the percentage of transactions originating on smartphones.”

Is this a sign that mobiles – specifically tablets – are taking over the world? Potentially, especially when combined with new data out from Adroit Digital which indicates 55% of people would replace their PC with a tablet if given the choice. What’s the draw of the tablet? Most (52%) say their tablets are used to watch TV; 50% also use tablets to find information.

Scott German, general manager of Adroit Digital, said, “We were certainly not surprised by how quickly consumers are integrating tablets into their everyday life. What really opened our eyes was the shift in behavior resulting from this use of tablets for researching, shopping, and viewing content. If brand marketers and advertisers don’t have a plan for tablet messaging, advertising, and commerce, they can risk their brand’s relevance.”

Some interesting takeaways from the report include:
• 56% say they’re more likely to engage with ads on tablets than PCs
• 54% say they use tablets at least 1 hour per day
• 42% say they’re likely to impulse buy from tablets