Criteo, the performance marketing technology company has released its Q4 2015 State of Mobile Commerce Report, which examines mCommerce trends on a quarterly basis and provides insight into online shopping behaviour as consumers’ path to purchase continues to evolve.
Criteo’s dive into 1.4 billion online transactions finds that four in 10 purchases occur across multiple devices or channels.
Of that figure, close to one-third are completed on a mobile device, indicating that consumers are using numerous devices along their path to purchase and are regularly buying on mobile.
The proliferation of mCommerce is further fueling the desire for more personalised brand experiences from consumers. Digital marketers can no longer look at device use alone to identify and convert consumers into buyers.
For companies to win, understanding user profiles across multiple devices, browsers, and apps in order to provide them with a meaningful and relevant experience throughout their shopping journey is key to success.
“People led marketing or personalised marketing at scale represents a significant opportunity for Australian retailers who are prepared to make the leap. That’s where businesses can really win,” said David Raitt, commercial director, Criteo ANZ.
“Smartphone usage is such that it has completely transformed not just how we communicate but our expectations as consumers, and with access to better devices and faster connections comes an expectation of retailers offering intuitive mobile experience tailored to how people like to buy.
“The report findings support this with Australia rapidly rising up the ranks in mobile share of transactions from ninth place last quarter to fourth place in Q4 2015.
“That’s a staggering pace of growth and it’s indicative of the strides Aussie retailers have made in making the most of mobile.”
Jonathan Wolf, chief product officer, Criteo says the Mobile Commerce Report demonstrates that mobile is an essential component of commerce today, with most consumers browsing and buying across multiple devices.
“In order to better understand this digitally-savvy consumer, marketers need to stop looking at each device on its own, and start understanding the user behind them. Multi-device behaviour is the new normal. Criteo’s new Universal Match solution enables advertisers to zero in on shoppers at the time they are most likely to purchase, with a targeted message across all of their devices.”
Report Highlights:
Mobile Shopping is Booming for Retailers
Retailers with a strong mobile shopping experience closed out 2015 with impressive sales results, shifting many mobile device browsers into buyers. For brands to win with the mobile friendly consumer, they need to invest in a mobile marketing strategy that meets consumer wants and needs across all devices:
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In Q4 2015, mobile transaction share saw 15 per cent growth from 2014, reaching 30 per cent of all eCommerce transactions globally.
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For leading Australian retailers, as ranked by percentage of transactions occurring on a mobile device, mobile’s share of all transactions reached a high of 48 per cent.
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Across mobile devices, tablets drove higher value sales than smartphones, but iOS devices saw higher order values than the average.
Mobile Consumers Prefer to Shop on Smartphones
The smartphone is increasingly becoming the mobile purchase device of choice and accounts for a majority of mobile sales worldwide. As brands optimise their mobile shopping experience, they should focus on smartphones as a key vehicle for eCommerce:
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Smartphones accounted for 66 per cent of retail mobile transaction share in Australia, ahead of the U.S. (60 per cent), driven by the combination of better transaction ability, ubiquity, big bright screens and fast wireless broadband.
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The smartphone accounts for a majority of mobile sales globally, and this is most pronounced in Japan and South Korea.
Cross Device Use Continues to Rise
Consumers are comfortably using multiple devices—laptops, tablets and smartphones—in all stages of their shopping journey. The need to better understand consumer behaviour, influence and intent are key components to retailers engaging them in their cross-device journey. For brands to succeed, a strong consumer focus and use of smart technology should be adopted:
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Nearly 40 per cent of transactions globally occurred across multiple devices or channels in Q4 2015.
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37 per cent of desktop buyers browsed the same retailer’s site on at least one other device before purchasing.
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Cross-device shoppers who completed their purchase on a tablet were the most likely to have used multiple devices in the path-to-purchase, with 43 per cent of tablet shoppers using multiple devices in their shopping journey.
Apps’ Ease of Purchase Drives Revenue
Retailers and brands with intuitive apps that highlight relevant products to consumers and remove barriers to purchase see stronger sales and higher values. Building an app that displays useful products and streamlines the path to purchase is necessary to drivingengagement, conversion and revenue:
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Of those retailers that have prioritised the mobile experience, mobile apps accounted for 54 per cent of all mobile transactions in the retail industry, and 58 per cent of mobile transactions in the travel industry.
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Shoppers using mobile apps browsed 286 per cent more products than mobile web shoppers, contributing to an add-to-basket rate 90 per cent higher than mobile browsers.
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The overall conversion rate on an app was 120 per cent higher than mobile browsers.
No Stopping mCommerce Growth Globally
Mobile as a share of eCommerce transactions are steadily growing worldwide with Japan, UK and South Korea in the lead. As consumers across the world turn to mobile for their purchasing device of choice, international brands need to ensure their mobile marketing strategies are meeting user standards:
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Mobile commerce accounted for 35 per cent of retail eCommerce sales worldwide with the U.S. in the middle.
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50 per cent of all eCommerce transactions across the globe were cross-device.
