New report says 2015 was "the year of mobile shopping"

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Apr 6, 2016

Smartphones continue to be a popular way to shop online. According to the Demandware Shopping Index 2015 Recap and Q4 metrics, 2015 was “the year of mobile shopping.”

The index, which measures digital commerce growth and is based on an analysis of the shopping activity of more than 400 million shippers worldwide, found that shopping attraction, which measures the growth in number of shoppers, soared, driving 98% of digital commerce’s growth in Q4 2015.

Shopper spend, which combines the change in site visit frequency, conversion rate and average order value, also increased, and drove 2% of digital’s growth. “Attraction is the driver of digital commerce expansion,” said Rick Kenney, head of consumer insights at Demandware. “The large increase in the number of shoppers choosing digital is a clear sign that online shopping behaviors continue to evolve.”

In 2015, phones accounted for all the growth in visits and baskets and the majority, and increasing, share of order growth. Phones' traffic share rose 30% to 43% and order share was up 50% to 23%. In contrast, tablets are no longer as popular for shopping - they saw reduced traffic and order share, down 19% and 10% respectively. The report also states that nearly 80% of millennials experience a brand for the first time on mobile.

Demandware said the following trends are worth keeping an eye on, as they are likely to continue in 2016:

* Reduced time on site – Demandware found reductions in both average time per visit (down 11%) and average time per phone visit (down 19%) in Q4. The rise of personalization will likely perpetuate this trend as retail brands make it more efficient for shoppers to interact and purchase across channels.

* Increased cart creation – Baskets are now the currency of cross-channel engagement, with Q4 showing an overall increase in cart rate creation. This is a good sign for omnichannel retailers that rely on carts to bridge the gap from digital to store.

* Shopper expectations – Shoppers expect free shipping and discounts, but increasingly prefer an experience that is customized and exclusive to them.