SAN FRANCISCO—Mobile shopping increased significantly over Thanksgiving weekend, according to a new study.
The 2015 Mobile Holiday Shopping Report from Moovweb shows that Black Friday mobile revenues were up 95% over year-ago levels, and transactions on smartphones accounted for 36% more of the total revenue for Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year.
The survey also reveals a 45% increase in mobile shopping sessions this year, as well as a 16% increase in mobile conversions—turning online leads into complete checkouts.
“All of these statistics signal a significant shift in the way Americans are shopping for holiday deals this year—a trend that is likely to continue in the future,” said Bill Hardekopf, CEO at LowCards.com, Birmingham, Ala.
The data showed iPhone users were more active with mobile purchases than Android users.
“Preliminary reports from the National Retail Federation last week also showed that much of the sales for Thanksgiving weekend had moved to the Internet,” said Hardekopf. “This data was published before Cyber Monday, showing that Black Friday shoppers were more in favor of online shopping than in-store shopping this year. Many popular retailers like Walmart and Target had their Black Friday sales listed online before they were available in stores, giving shoppers a chance to buy what they wanted at any point in the day from the comfort of their own home. While there was still a large number of in-store sales that day, a substantial number of consumers chose to stay home and complete their purchases through their phones or computers.”
Though the shift to digital purchases is strong, mobile shopping through tablets actually declined this year, the Moovweb study shows.
“Unlike smartphones, tablets saw a 10% drop in sessions and a 13% decrease in revenue over Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” noted Hardekopf.