Member Article

The shift to mobile shopping

Ecommerce has shifted to mobile: what can we learn from this?

As an e-commerce merchandising platform we have been spending a lot of time focusing on the mobile-optimisation of our services. This is especially important because mobile internet usage is growing faster than internet usage in general, up 23 percent compared with just 8 percent. Consumer behaviour is rapidly changing and is forcing brands across all verticals to adjust. With nearly every consumer activity shifting to mobile in some way — from listening to music, browsing to shopping etc. Mobile is also now consumers’ preferred choice of device for researching products, overtaking laptops for the first time. And new research from xAd finds that smartphones are used more frequently at home than on the move, with 64% of mobile use happening in people’s houses compared to 36% out and about.

Part of our mobile-optimisation process in 2015 has been to review the mobile shopping habits of our customers across Europe. After a few months monitoring the activity on our platform, here is what we found:

The shift to mobile

Mobile sales across Spreadshirt’s international markets show that people are not just browsing via mobile anymore but they are buying too. During a mobile visit, the probability that a product will be added to the shopping bag is twice more likely than during a visit via PC. Compared to a traditional purchase via a desktop, the likelihood of a mobile purchase in the evening is a quarter higher and it’s twice as likely in the mornings.

Our data revealed some interesting stats about shoppers across Europe: the British are more likely than the French or Germans to shop via their mobile. Our data shows that 30% of sales from the UK come via a mobile device compared to Germany (25%) or France (17%).

Pricier items can make up a bigger share of mobile shopping pie

A smaller screen is supposed to mean a smaller basket size. The theory is that if consumers can’t see the product very well, they won’t want to risk a big purchase. Now, it may be because it was the winter, but we found that during Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 our mobile shoppers were buying a lot of hoodies, which are one of our more expensive items. Regardless of the weather, this is not something we would expect to see. For us, hoodies are a more expensive choice compared to t-shirts, or long-sleeved shirts and we see solid sales of them via a PC. Surprisingly, as a share of the mobile sales, they have a bigger slice of the pie. They are the third most common purchase on mobiles across Europe, after premium and standard t-shirts, which are cheaper items.

So perhaps the smaller screen price threshold is less of problem than was previously thought? Of course, optimising your site for mobile could mean that shoppers are more prepared to buy premium items and there might now be fewer concerns around mobile shopping security too.

When is mobile shopping happening? Early in the week & evenings in the UK

Our review also shows that there seem to be distinct mobile shopping patterns in the UK. For example: The beginning of the week is busier than the end with buyers across Europe, with the British more likely to shop on a Tuesday! Four out of 10 visitors access the site via their mobile at the weekend (compared to a third during the week). The British and Germans do their shopping via tablet in the evening; 20% of all our tablet orders in the UK are made between 6.00pm and midnight. However, in Germany, 50% of visitors to the site in the early morning (between 7 and 8am) are from phones and 38% between midnight and 6am.

So why are these results important?

For some online retailers Google’s search rules changes earlier this year created mobilegeddon, as they fell off the radar. But mobile sales are expected to rise to nearly 50% of all transactions in the coming years and our review shows that the shift to mobile is happening across Europe, with very rapid rises in both mobile browsing and purchasing. Regular reviews of sales and mobile usage are therefore an increasingly important part of any ecommerce company’s strategy for success. At Spreadshirt we have spent the last couple of years optimising our platform for mobile use, introducing a new single-page check-out, social sharing functionalities and a smartphone-optimised marketplace. As a result, in some cases over 50% of our traffic now comes from mobile. We’ve also seen a tripling of mobile sales since optimisation.

These numbers prove that there is a clear shift in the way mobile is being used, which means that brands must adapt and evolve their way of reaching consumers. We’re living in a consumer-driven market, and buyers’ trends will continue to shape the way that brands do business with their customers across channels and devices.

Our mobile shopping trend review has helped us focus the shift to mobile shopping and some of the unexpected changes this has produced. Hoodies, tablets and mobilegeddon are just the beginning. We’re very interested to see how our customers’ mobile shopping habits develop in 2016.

Author: Philip Rooke, CEO of Spreadshirt. Follow him on Twitter @PhilipRooke

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Philip Rooke .