Mobile Outpacing Online Retail Growth. Are you Mobile Ready This Holiday Season?

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Smartphones and tablets have proven to be the conversion drivers this US holiday season with retailers noticing massive growth in m-commerce. Have you made the most of your mobile offering in 2011?

The US Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping traditions reveal interesting trends emerging for e-commerce. comScore data shows a 22% increase in spending on Cyber Monday with a 15% increase in e-commerce this holiday season.  IBM reported that online sales were up 33% on Cyber Monday and up 29.3% for Black Friday. Mobile sales grew dramatically since Cyber Monday 2010, jumping from 2.3% to 6.6% this year. Shoppers using the iPad drove more retail purchases than any other device, with IBM reporting conversion rates of 5.2%. In terms of overall growth rates, mobile is leading the way.

‘We are hearing from retailers that this is the end of the domination of the PC era and really the start of the mobile experience for consumers. All of mobile is growing at a pace that is anywhere from five to 10 times the rate that online retail is growing,’  John Squire, Chief Strategy Officer of IBM Smart Commerce told Mobile Commerce Daily.

PayPal has also claimed mobile as the champion this holiday season, claiming a staggering 552% increase in global mobile payment volume on Cyber Monday 2011 compared to 2010. The eBay figures also confirm this trend, finding that shoppers in the US spent two and a half times more via eBay Mobile this year compared to last year.

What are your predictions for the Boxing Day sales? Will Aussies be ditching the cues and avoiding the threat of bodily harm by using their mobiles and tablets to make purchases instead? Will 26 December 2011 be Mobile Monday?

Article by Natasha Sholl

Natasha is a content creator for The Media Pad, publisher of Power Retail. She has a background in law and communications and a passion for all things retail. Natasha loves analysing and problem solving all of the challenges and trends that come with new media and the online retail space. Natasha is a yoga addict and reluctant running devotee, both of which are offset by her serious caffeine addiction and obsession with baking.