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Mobile shopping seems to be outpacing many other e-commerce platforms, and may soon even overtake the humble desktop, according to a new report from Adobe Analytics. But considering the amount of time most people spend glued to their phones, is it all that surprising?
The report, which analyzed online commerce transactions, covering more than 1 trillion visits to US retail sites, 100 million SKUs, and 18 product categories, also predicted that 53% of online sales during the holiday shopping season will be driven by mobile shopping.
In fact, mobile spending grew in the double digits in the first half of 2024, and that puts it “neck and neck” with desktop shopping, Adobe said, with a “tipping point in the months ahead.” The amount spent shopping on mobile just this year has already hit a record $280.4 billion, representing 10.2% YoY growth.
It’s also a considerable uptick from the 2021 holiday season, when 43% of online sales were driven by mobile shopping—up from 40% in 2020.
This substantial growth can be largely credited to enhanced mobile shopping experiences as well as the speed and convenience of shopping on a phone, according to Adobe.
And with inflation and rising prices driving consumers to seek the best deals, promotional events such as Prime Day and Memorial Day sales have additionally tipped mobile’s share of sales over 50%.
Adobe
Of course, some sectors are doing better than others, like groceries—which, per Adobe, drove 68.2% of mobile sales in July. Personal care, including cosmetics, was also a huge category for mobile shoppers, who made 77% of e-comm purchases via mobile devices in July.
While these categories are taking off for fervent phone shoppers, others, like electronics and home improvement, are lagging behind.
According to Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, this is primarily because consumers usually shy away from making larger purchases on their small screens, while they “have embraced mobile shopping for purchases that are more frequent and lower in price,” he told Retail Brew, with the caveat that that could change in the future.