M-commerce growth continues but tablet use is decreasing

Thursday, October 15, 2015 - 09:15 by Paul Tissington

The latest figures from Demandware show that while there is still a lot of momentum in the m-commerce market, desktop remains the dominant platform for purchases made via safe shopping online and tablets could be tailing off in terms of influence.

The report uses data gleaned from more than two million consumers across the country, finding that 25 per cent of all online transactions are now carried out from smartphone devices.

Conversely, the slowing sales of tablets is also seemingly leading to a drop-off in their usage by consumers, with the amount of traffic generated by this type of device falling by 10 per cent, compared to the same period in 2014.

Almost two thirds of sales made via safe shopping online still originate from desktop and laptop computers, showing that while mobile devices may have won the battle in terms of traffic, people are more comfortable with the idea of going through with a purchase on a traditional e-commerce platform.

Analysts also found that there is still a difference between the habits of consumers, depending on the smartphone operating system they are using. iOS generates 15 per cent more traffic and sales than Android, indicating that Apple customers are still more willing to part with cash via their mobile of choice.

Android, of course, holds a larger share of the mobile market as a whole, but the innate affluence of those who can afford iOS devices seems to have resulted in Apple’s range taking the lead when it comes to m-commerce activities.

The fading of tablet-generated traffic is arguably the most interesting aspect of this report and one which reflects the fact that sales for this type of device are shrinking, due to many people sticking with the same tablet for an extended period, rather than upgrading regularly.