Desktop computers still top dog for online shopping conversions

Wednesday, October 18, 2017 - 10:08 by Mike Price

Although more people now browse the web and shop online from their smartphones, it is traditional PCs that remain at the head of the pack in terms of conversion rates and revenue generation.

This is according to the latest study from Qubit, which focuses specifically on fashion and beauty sites offering safe shopping online.

For visitors using a desktop or laptop computer, conversion rates hovered at 3.35 per cent in the first half of 2017. Meanwhile, on portable platforms this was much lower at just 1.61 per cent, meaning that people are effectively twice as likely to commit to a purchase if they are using a PC to browse.

The average amount of revenue generated for each visitor that arrives on a shopping site is also vastly different, with desktop users having a typical value of £6.10 while those on mobile are worth just £2.66 to retailers.

There is mounting evidence to suggest that even as smartphone and tablet use increases, people who want to enjoy a serious session of safe shopping online will tend to use a PC instead. Desktop users viewed an average of almost 18 products, while mobile visitors checked out slightly fewer than 14.

For a long time mobile shopping was held back by the fact that sites were not very well optimised for portable platforms, making them hard to navigate. Trust was also lacking, with consumers concerned about the security of using their smartphone to complete a transaction.

Major improvements have been made in the past couple of years, closing the gap between mobile and desktop. But as this study shows, people still prefer to sit in front of a computer and get involved in a longer e-commerce session, rather than doing everything from a smartphone.