Study: Mobile shoppers make more frequent purchases
A new study from Custora – a web and mobile analytics firm that serves a number of retail clients – suggests that while traditional online shoppers may spend more money, mobile shoppers are making more frequent purchases.
Data from the company's research notes that mobile shoppers make 59 percent more purchases than those browsing from desktop PCs. On average, however, the mobile customer tends to spend 12 percent less than their online counterparts, indicating that while smartphone shoppers are important, ecommerce consumers should still be the primary targets.
Moreover, online shoppers tend to be more consistent. Monday through Friday, mobile sales accounted for 15 percent of total ecommerce expenditures. This figure jumps by 60 percent on weekends to 24 percent, suggesting consumers are more active on their phones on Saturday and Sunday.
There were further discrepancies based on the niche a retailer occupied, Internet Retailer observed from Custora's data.
"A Custora housewares merchant client can expect 97 percent more profit from mobile customers than from desktop customers over the course of a two-year cycle, or lifetime value, the study finds," Internet Retailer added. "Mobile customers of housewares order 105 percent more often than desktop shoppers and their average order size is 13 percent greater."
More than 8.2 million customers were examined as a part of the study, with data collected from companies that generate between $50 million and $150 million annually.
Qualifying mobile customers
While Custora's data shows that mobile shoppers are frequent buyers, it also highlights the fact that different retailers may get different results. When planning new ecommerce programs, merchants should always consider their audience before making any meaningful changes to store operations.
"We all know mobile commerce is growing, but there’s no easy way to categorize mobile customers – they behave differently for every retailer," Corey Pierson, cofounder and CEO of Custora, told the news source. "To develop a mobile strategy, it’s critical to understand what mobile means for your specific customers."
Regardless of whether a business ends up incorporating mobile, it's still important to consider the new technology because of its growing user base. According to data from comScore, upward of 106 million American consumers currently own these devices.
