The December holiday period is arguably the busiest and most manic shopping time frame across the globe. Historically, millions of people around the world have taken to local high streets, outlets and shopping malls to buy gifts for family and loved ones. However, in recent times the global economic slow down, coupled together with the low costs provided by on line retailers has seen sales figures in physical shopping outlets decrease dramatically.
Online retailers such as Amazon, Play.com and eBuyer are able to keep costs at a minimum by providing their services purely on line, backed by a sophisticated dispatch and delivery systems meaning they have no overheads for high street stores to take into account. Their respective websites serve as their catalogues and the majority of all orders are taken electronically and sent to warehouses for fulfillment.
Interestingly, in recent years on line shopping has taken a different path. With the introduction of advanced smartphones consumers now have the luxury of purchasing goods from retailers using mobile devices such as an Android device, iPad or an iPhone. This new gateway to shopping is not only a powerful purchasing tool but gives consumers the ease of shopping they require. So just how popular is mobile shopping?
Retail analysis firm RichRelevance carried out a study in which they monitored and analyzed 3.4 billion shopping sessions. Out of those 3.4 billion session, 3% of transactions were made via a mobile device. After carrying on analyzing the figures, it was found that in April 2011 88% of those mobile sales were carried out via the iOS platform, whether that be through an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The fact that iOS accounted for 88% of mobile sales is staggering enough, but further analysis has shown that in December of this year, that percentage has increased with iOS now handling 92% of mobile sales.
David Selinger, who is CEO of analysis firm RichRelevance had this to say about the figures:
The numbers across our retailing partners sites demonstrate just how powerful the iOS platform is enabling mobile web shopping and, while still below 5 percent in total conversion, mobile traffic’s doubling in eight months is a trend we only see accelerating. In order to succeed in this dynamic market, retailers and brands must ensure they are addressing relevance throughout the channels where people are shopping, ensuring a seamless experience across the interplay of device, context and consumer behavior.”
It can only be encouraging for not only retailers, but Apple as well as the figures represent a nine month continued rise in mobile sales, clearly driven by the iOS platform. Have you used your iOS device to purchase on line? Maybe your session was one analyzed in this report.
(via AllThingsD)
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- Apple Still The Top Smartphone Manufacturer In America While Android Leads Mobile OS Market
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