This holiday promises to be the first where online purchases made on a phone surpass those made on desktop. In fact, in most world regions, for retailers with a shopping app, mobile already accounts for more than 50% of online transactions and in-app sales dominate.
Using data from our comprehensive Global Commerce Review, The Criteo Holiday Report provides interesting insight into exactly how important mobile–and apps–are in key regions around the world. Here are some key stats from Q4 2017 to know:
- Globally, the share of in-app transactions grew from 31% in Q4 2016 to 46% in Q4 2017, indicating an overall uplift of 48% YoY.
- Shopping apps tend to generate higher conversion rates — in some countries 3 to 5 times higher than on mobile web
- North America: For advertisers with a shopping app, mobile accounts for 67% of sales, share of transactions completed on a smartphone increased 13% YoY.
- Europe: Mobile accounts for 50% of all sales for advertisers who invest in both mobile web and shopping apps, share of transactions completed on a smartphone increased 21% YoY.
- Middle East & Africa: This is the one region where smartphone generates the largest share of online transactions, at 36%. Conversions are 5X higher on app than on mobile web.
- Latin America: This is the fastest growing region for share of mobile transactions, with a YoY increase of 37%.
The Holiday Report also looked at how mobile transactions change leading up to and through the holidays. Here’s what we found:
- In 2017, mobile transactions were lowest (33%) on Cyber Monday (a work day), and desktop usage climbed. This probably represents the work crowd getting to the office and searching for online deals.
- From Cyber Week to New Year’s, mobile commerce tends to peak in the pre- and after-work hours. Shoppers could be waking up and browsing or getting home and buying. During the work day, desktops reign supreme. Mobile shopping continues to dominate nights and weekends.
- December 23, 2017 (closely followed by Christmas Eve and Christmas) was the biggest day ever in the history of mobile commerce in the US: 48% of all purchases were made on smartphones.
Maximize mobile, be merry
Retailers that have a strong mobile plan will definitely win big this holiday. Audit your mobile web presence and ensure that speed, experience and ease of checkout are optimized. Put more spend behind the days and times that shoppers are most active on mobile. And create a mobile experience that lets shoppers buy without leaving their favorite apps. With Criteo Dynamic Retargeting for Facebook and Instagram and App Retargeting, you’re able to deliver personalized ads to your audience across these social media apps, making it as easy as possible for them to complete their holiday purchases.
