A new
report from eMarketer estimates that 15 percent of online retail sales will be made on a mobile device this year, climbing upwards of $39 billion by the end of 2013. The majority of sales will be made from a tablet with only 35 percent of m-commerce happening via a smartphone.
This year’s expected m-commerce sales reflect an 11 percent increase from 2012. Total m-commerce sales are projected to reach 25 percent by 2017, topping out at $108 billion in the next four years. This year’s $39 billion in retail m-commerce sales is nearly triple the amount earned in 2011.
According to eMarketer, one of the primary reasons mobile is driving e-commerce sales is because it, “…stimulates incremental purchases that stem from impulse buying.” Mobile devices offer consumers a prolonged shopping day, removing the need to be in a store or on a desktop to make purchases.
By the end of this year, 51 percent of digital buyers will use a mobile device to make a purchase, with the majority of online shopping happening on a tablet. In the next four years, eMarketer estimates 71 percent of U.S. retail m-commerce sales will be made on tablets compared to only 27 percent of m-commerce sales made using a smartphone.
Excluding travel services and event tickets, m-commerce sales represent products and services ordered online using a mobile device regardless of whether payment or fulfillment took place on the mobile or in-person. Citing lower-than-expected 2012 year-end reports, eMarketer stated that these projected figures reflect a slight decrease from forecasts made in January of this year.
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