Yahoo News 
Mobile purchases in the US gain traction
BI Intelligence
This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "E-Commerce Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.
Cross-device shopping now accounts for 31% of online transactions in the US, with 35% of smartphone purchases starting on a desktop, according to a study by Criteo.
Additionally, 36% of online purchases occurred on a mobile phone in Q4 2016, a 20% year-over-year (YoY) increase, while conversion rates grew 25% YoY.
Fashion and luxury saw the most purchases via mobile in the US, while the home category experienced the greatest growth.
Fashion and luxury had the highest proportion of mobile purchases, with 40% of online transactions occurring on a mobile device, but only saw 6% YoY growth in Q4.
Mobile purchases of home goods grew by 31% YoY, with about 25% of online transactions within the segment happening on mobile.
Retailers that lag in mobile purchases should take advantage of this trend by investing in a better mobile shopping experience. There are still several pain points that make mobile purchasing inconvenient for shoppers, including difficult checkout processes and slow load times. To overcome such hurdles, retailers could optimize mobile app page load times, or create one-click checkout processes. Moreover, retailers may consider using deep linking technology to guide customers on third-party apps directly to their product pages.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on shopping cart abandonment that explains what leads a shopper to abandon an online purchase and how retailers can begin to combat rising shopping cart abandonment rates. The report collects and analyzes data from top e-commerce companies, as well as thoughts from industry experts whose job it is to reduce abandonment rates and boost conversions, to come up with a number of solutions that can help retailers recover lost sales.
Here are some key points from the report:
Shopping cart abandonment is increasing, and it will continue to do so as more consumers shift to online and mobile shopping. In 2013, as many as 74% of online shopping carts were abandoned by shoppers, according to data shared with BI Intelligence by e-commerce data company, Barilliance. That abandonment rate is up from 72% in 2012, and 69% in 2011.
An abandoned shopping cart does not automatically translate to a "lost sale," because three-fourths of shoppers who have abandoned shopping carts say they plan to return to the retailer's website or store to make a purchase, according to data from SeeWhy. Online-only retailers are at a disadvantage to "omnichannel" retailers in this respect because they have fewer channels through which to recover lost sales.
Retailers can reduce the rate of abandonment and increase conversions by streamlining the checkout process and also by retargeting shoppers with emails after they've left a website. Initial emails, sent three hours after a consumer abandons a cart, average a 40% open rate and a 20% click-through rate, according to Listrak.
More broadly, an abandoned shopping cart should be seen as part of the increasingly complex series of steps a consumer might take before finally making a purchase and a strong indicator of consumer interest in a product or a brand. Technology that helps retailers collect and leverage online shopping cart data is likely to be a worthwhile investment.
In full, the report:
Explains the complex relationship between consumers and retailers and outlines reasons why shoppers abandon a purchase.
Includes interviews with executives from top retailers and marketing agencies who talk about what they are doing to reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Proposes a list of solutions that are proven to reduce shopping cart abandonment for online retailers.
Forecasts where this trend is going and how shopping cart abandonment will affect retailers — bricks-and-mortars and e-commerce companies alike — in the future.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of why consumers are abandoning their carts.
See Also:
