Mobile Devices Now Account for 50.3% of E-Commerce Traffic

It’s official: more people are now using their mobiles or tablets to visit online stores than they are using desktop computers. In a recent Shopify data collection of 100,000 e-commerce stores, the results showed that 50.3% of e-commerce traffic came from mobile phones and tablets, whilst 49.7% came from desktop computers.

It is clear from these statistics that mobile devices are becoming the preferred platform through which to complete online shopping. A rapidly growing demographic has taken to browsing the web from mobile phones and tablets as they allow customers to access their desired products and services on-the-go. This has led to ‘always-on-shopping’ as shopping is no longer designated to certain times of day and takes place consistently across all times of day.

The increase in mobile traffic to e-commerce sites is not only due to an accelerated need to access shopping on-the-go, but is also due to the prevalence of social media as a marketing tool. Social media, which is so frequently accessed via mobile phones and tablets, has played a huge role in directing traffic to e-commerce sites. As a now indispensable marketing tool, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook encourage customers to make spontaneous purchases and follow links on tweets or Facebook posts through to e-commerce sites.

This data, showing us that 50.3% of e-commerce traffic is now coming from mobile phones and tablets, is surely a landmark in the growth of mobile commerce. In 2010, mobile visits to retail sites accounted for less than 3% of site traffic and, therefore, in just four years this growth is staggering. As customers increasingly take to using mobile devices to identify services and make online purchases, it is important to ensure that your website is responsive and can be accessed seamlessly across a range of devices.

For information about responsive website design and how this can benefit you, please feel free to get in touch or read our blog: How Important Is a Responsive Layout for your Shopify Store?

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