Why It’s All About The Smartphone (And No Longer About The Tablet)

Smartphones are the biggest driver of new digital commerce, according to the recently released 2015 Demandware Shopping Index. Tablets, meanwhile, are in retreat as a commerce platform of choice.

The company says its data reveals that shopping attraction, which measures the growth in number of shoppers, soared, drive almost all of the growth (98 per cent) of digital in Q4 2015.

The Demandware Shopping Index measures digital commerce growth and is the product of two key attributes consumers display on sites transacting on the Demandware Commerce Cloud: shopping attraction and shopper spend.

According to the study’s authors, the index represents an analysis of same-site data over time and incorporates the behavioural data of over 400 million shoppers interacting with those sites.

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Furthermore, according to the report, shopper spend, which combines the change in site visit frequency, conversion rate and average order value, also increased, and drove two per cent of digital’s growth.

The combined increases in shopper spend and shopping attraction yield the Demandware Shopping Index of +26 per cent for 2015, according to the authors.

Among the findings of the study:

Reduced time on site Average time per visit (down 11 per cent) and average time per phone visit (down 19 per cent) both fell in Q4. The rise of personalisation 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 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 customised and exclusive to them.

According to Rick Kenney, head of consumer insights at Demandware. “Attraction is the driver of digital commerce expansion. The large increase in the number of shoppers choosing digital is a clear sign that online shopping behaviours continue to evolve.”

Phones accounted for all the growth in visits and baskets and the majority, and increasing, share of order growth. Importantly, this also translates into a net loss in visits and baskets on tablets and computers.

The data revealed that traffic and order share on tablets fell 19 per cent and ten per cent respectively, while phones’ traffic share rose 30 per cent to 43 per cent and order share was up 50 per cent to 23 per cent.

“In 2015, the shopper went mobile. This is driving the mobile-first mandate for retailers. More and more shoppers are interacting with brands for the first time through their mobile devices,” said Kenney. “Particularly when targeting millennials, who overwhelmingly experience a brand for the first time on their phone, it is necessary to provide a simple and quick experience.”

This article originally appeared on B&T’s sister business site www.which-50.com

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