Use Of Mobile Devices In Shopping Increased In 2012

Use Of Mobile Devices In Shopping Increased In 2012

The use of mobile devices in shopping increased last year compared to the same period in 2011. This was revealed by eMarketer, a market research company.

According to eMarketer, the number of consumers who used mobile devices in shopping last year increased by 81 percent compared to the previous year. A total of $25 billion worth of purchases were made by consumers using tablets and smartphones last year.

The use of mobile devices in shopping comprised 11 percent of all e-commerce sales in 2012, according to the company. This number may increase to around 15 percent this year.

By 2016, consumers will be using mobile devices to purchase around $87 billion worth of products and services, which is over 27 percent of the total e-commerce transactions.

The company indicated that the number of people who use mobile devices in shopping will increase as consumers grow more comfortable with using their handsets in making purchases. The increasing number of people using tablets when they shop will also contribute to this growing trend of using mobile devices in shopping.

Purchases made using tablets are expected to reach $24 billion, which may grow by twofold in 2014, according to eMarketer. On the other hand, smartphone shopping will increase at a much slower rate with around $13 billion spent for this year and around $24 billion in 2016.

The 2012 November to December shopping season saw consumers spending around $42 billion. This is an increase of around 14 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

Holiday shopping where mobile devices are used is expected to increase by two-fold this year. It will also comprise around 16 percent of all online sales during Thanksgiving and the Black Friday sales event. In comparison, the use of mobile devices in shopping only accounted for 9.8 percent of all online purchases in 2011.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Thursday January 10 2013, 8:18 AM EST. Ref: CNET. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0