We all know how popular mobile shopping has become, but Criteo’s latest report has shown that it now accounts for an incredible 50% or more of online purchases in some countries. The Global Commerce Report for Q2 of 2018 examined data from more than 5,000 online retailers across 80 countries around the world, looking at shoppers’ activities and analysing their choices, preferences and behaviours. This data gives us a greater understanding of how mobile sales are growing, where there is a need for further development and a closer insight into the shopper’s experience of online and mobile shopping. If you can apply these observations to your business, you’ll be able to benefit from the growing online shopping market. At Search Creative we aim to support your business, offering practical digital marketing hints and tips, so we’ve condensed the report into a short and sweet summary for you.
Apps are driving mobile sales with high conversion rates
A significant portion of the year-on-year online sales increase is due to the growth of apps, offering smooth and sleek online shopping experiences for the customer. In fact, 30% of the increase in online sales in this quarter can be put down to shopping apps. And importantly, a customer is much more likely to complete a purchase using an app than through the retailer’s website (3 times more likely in North America, to be precise). These aren’t figures to be ignored if you’re looking to increase your conversion rates and boost your online business. Apps provide a more streamlined user experience, with customers less likely to get distracted or frustrated and click onto another website before completing their purchase.
The importance of app promotion
If you already have an app but you’re not actively promoting it, you should reconsider your strategy. The report shows that the retailers who promote their app reap the benefits with up to 65% of their transactions coming from their apps (for retailers with online and bricks-and-mortar shops). For online-only businesses who promote their app, the respective figure is still considerable – 31% of all transactions are app-driven.
Mobile shopping enables data analysis and optimised marketing
Another advantage of mobile shopping is the ready availability of data. If this data is combined with the available offline data, the retailer could have up to 4 times more information, allowing deeper analysis and breakdown of customer trends. This, in turn, leads to more targeted and optimised marketing, creating increased traffic and higher conversion rates.
Mobile shopping is a key sector for businesses to focus on, with the potential to grow exponentially over the coming years. The future seems to be in developing smooth and efficient apps to create a superior, stress-free user experience. Currently, Japan and Northern Europe are spearheading the growth in mobile shopping. There’s a lot that US retailers could learn from their international competitors, to harness the power of the mobile shopping market.
