There’s nothing new about the ever-increasing rise in mobile traffic; analysts have been talking about the “death of the PC” for years now as mobile devices become more and more popular. But this holiday season is marking a significant change for mobile – specifically in the area of online shopping.
With Cyber Monday now a few days past, the numbers are starting to roll in, proving that mobile shopping integration is no longer just a nice “extra” feature. According to figures by IBM Benchmark, online shopping on Cyber Monday was up 20.6 percent compared with the same time last year. Of that number, 17 percent came from mobile devices.
According to USA Today, Walmart, a company with a mobile-friendly online store, saw 55 percent of its Cyber Monday traffic come from mobile devices. Nearly half of Walmart’s sales came from mobile devices, which means that with 2014 in the wings, it’s high time that companies take a serious look at their mobile presence and meet their customers where they’re spending more and more time: on mobile.
“The mobile device has become the shopping companion of choice for consumers, driving record mobile sales with 55 percent growth over last year,” Jay Henderson, Strategy Director of IBM Smarter Commerce, said in a press release.
This trend isn’t just tied to Cyber Monday. According to NPR, Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru predicts $78.7 billion in U.S. online sales this holiday season, which is a 15 percent increase over 2012 – and you can expect a large percentage of those sales will be made on mobile devices.
With shoppable videos – like Rapt Media’s work with Kara Ross New York – coming into the fold, companies need to be thinking about how online, Interactive Video can increase their mobile sales. Not only are people shopping online more now than ever before, more people are doing their shopping on tablets and smartphones.
Interested in making your own shoppable Interactive Video? Click here for more info.
