Study: Smartphone Traffic Grows Fast, But Revenue Still Lags Desktop

Retailers must figure out a way to get people to spend more on their smartphones or risk losing 11% of potential revenue, according to Adobe Digital Insights.

Smartphone traffic and revenue made on retail websites will likely overtake the desktop by the first quarter of 2018, according to a new study by Adobe Digital Insights (ADI).

“Mobile Retail Benchmark 2016” found smartphones already trump the desktop in terms of growth rate in both browsing and buying. However, when looking at spending patterns on retail websites, average order value (AOV) and revenue per visit (RPV) from smartphones still lag. But as retail traffic and revenue continue their mobile move, retailers must figure out a way to get people to spend more on their smartphones or risk losing 11% of potential revenue, ADI said.

Currently, according to the study, desktop AOV is $155 and mobile AOV is $120. Smartphone RPV is 3.5 times lower than on the desktop.

Overall, desktop conversion is 2.8 times higher than smartphone conversion, according to the study.

“There’s a difference between how people are purchasing on a smartphone vs. a desktop,” said Becky Tasker, managing analyst at ADI. “Marketers need to be aware of the differences in behavior and also address the conversion gap between desktops and smartphones, or they could lose out on potential revenue.”

Despite the strong growth in smartphone visits to retail websites (up 33% year over year), overall visits for the average retailer remain flat, according to the report. Traffic to retail websites increased just 1%, and desktop and tablet visits shrank 6% and 10%, respectively.

The study also found that smartphones are starting to chip away at revenue from tablets and desktop devices. Smartphone revenue grew by 65% YoY, while desktops and tablets both shrank by 2%. Of course, desktop remains king with 59% share of traffic and 75% of revenue.

“The call for better mobile experiences has never been louder, and marketers have traditionally approached mobile with an app-will-save-all focus,” Tasker said. “What we actually see, using our retail app data, is that just having an app really doesn’t cut it. A company can’t introduce an app to the marketplace and think they will automatically enjoy strong presence, because only the best apps get real pickup.”

To complement its analysis of more than 290 billion visits from 16,000 mobile sites and 85 billion app launches, ADI also surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers about their mobile preferences. It found that people often see app shopping experiences as subpar to those they enjoy on the desktop. Thirty-eight percent said they are frustrated by small screens, annoying ads (35%), and lack of pinch-zoom functionality (32%). Other frustrations include slow performance and poor navigation.

“Marketers must actively address the ongoing shift to smartphones and define a strategic approach to the customer experience, both by enhancing the mobile experience and addressing the differences in purchasing behavior seen between desktops and smartphones,” Tasker said. “The solution is to find a cohesive strategy across devices, not abandon or overoptimize toward one. If marketers do not implement this strategy, they risk losing out on potential revenue in the long term.”

View the full report below, or click here for a larger view on SlideShare.