Here’s How People Are Shopping With Their Phones And What Business Can Do To Grab Them

People are using smartphones to buy things.

Lot of things.

$25 billion worth of things in Europe and the US.

By 2015, it'll be $65 billion worth of things.

Here's a chart from Business Insider Intelligence showing what that opportunity looks like:

mobile ecommerce opportunity
mobile ecommerce opportunity

Business Insider Intelligence

Retailers have to pay attention to this space.

Not only is the market rapidly growing in size, tablet shoppers already tend to spend more per session than traditional PC users:

average order value on tablets smartphones and pcs
average order value on tablets smartphones and pcs

Business Insider Intelligence

So what can retailers do to take advantage of the trend?

The first, and most obvious step, is to make great iPhone and iPad apps. We're being brand specific there for a reason. The CEOs of ecommerce companies Fab and Rue La La both say that iPhone and iPad users shop and spend a lot more than Android users.

This make sense, because iOS users both spend and make more money than Android users:

global ios users spend and make more than android users
global ios users spend and make more than android users

Business Insider Intelligence

For some apps to model yours after, check out these e-commerce apps, which consumers love to spend time with:

mobile shopping apps average time spent per month
mobile shopping apps average time spent per month

Business Insider Intelligence

For retailers with an offline presence, the next step is building an app that takes advantage of Apple's passbook and Google Wallet, which allow users to pay for things with their phones.

According to BI Intelligence analyst Marcelo Ballvé, " mobile payments are not so much about the act of effecting a 'wallet-less' payment via a mobile device, but about the extra value such an app can create as a direct link between brands and consumers."

Think about coupons, loyalty rewards, and ticketing.

After building a great app, the final thought for retailers should be marketing it.

Spend to do it!

In a 2012 IAB survey , 22 percent of mobile shoppers said an ad inspired their commerce.

BI Intelligence is a new research and analysis service focused on mobile computing and the Internet. Many of the charts and data in this report are available for download from the BI Intelligence library. Please sign up for a free trial here .



More From Business Insider

Advertisement