Mobile Shoppers Want to Be Able to See Products

Being able to see product pictures via a smartphone or tablet device is the most important mcommerce-related capability, according to US shoppers.

Nielsen surveyed 3,734 US mobile shoppers ages 18 and older during Q4 2015 about using smartphones and tablets for ecommerce activities.

Almost half (48%) of smartphone shoppers said that using the mobile-friendly version of a website was important for mcommerce. More than a third of tablet shoppers said the same thing.

Being able to read product reviews, having the product descriptions and having the ability to compare product prices were other mcommerce-related capabilities both smartphone and tablet shoppers considered important.

More tablet shoppers than smartphone shoppers said the size of the text or link on the website was important—perhaps surprising considering tablets’ larger screens. On the flip side, tablet shoppers were less concerned than their smartphone-wielding counterparts about using mobile-friendly websites, likely thanks to those larger screens.

In general, mobile commerce had a breakthrough year in 2015. Indeed, smartphone retail mcommerce sales in the US nearly doubled, driven by larger screens, smoother buying experiences, better mobile search and context-driven discovery.

And, eMarketer expects US retail mcommerce sales will reach $123.13 billion in 2016, a 39.1% increase over 2015 and more than double the amount in 2014. As a result of this rapid growth, mcommerce will account for just under one-third of retail ecommerce sales and 2.6% of total retail this year.

Courtesy of eMarketer