M-commerce grows by 30% in lockdown, moving ‘three to four years’ in a few months

UK retail sales on mobile were up 30% compared to Q1 2020 and 25% stronger than the pre-Covid Q4 2019, as online users increasingly go mobile.

Globally, mobile is driving the consumers shift to online with shoppers spending an impressive 1.6 trillion hours on their mobiles in 2020 – and producing growth in m-commerce that would have taken “three to four years” under normal circumstances.

In fact, the average user spent 27% of daily waking hours, or 4.3 hours, on their mobile device in April 2020 — up 20% from 2019.

So finds a detailed study by mobile analytics company App Annie, which shows that consumer spend on mobile rose to in excess of $50 billion in the first half of the year, driven by gaming, shopping and streaming in lockdown.

According to App Annie, e-commerce boomed in H1 2020, achieving growth that normally would have taken between 4 and 6 years — and mobile was central to this growth.

But, the study warns, retailers, fintech and payment providers should prioritise features that resonate with shoppers and their shopping-from-home and socially-distant needs.

The pandemic and the attendant switch to online and mobile is also driving mobile marketing and advertising to expand and intensify at a similarly accelerated pace. According to the study, Mobile ad placements grew 70% during the pandemic driven by interstitial ads.

Despite a reduction in marketing budgets, mobile’s unparalleled reach and engagement is still luring strong growth in mobile advertising 

While m-commerce has benefited, the move to mobile has also revolutionised the already highly-lucrative gaming market, as well as taking streaming service revenues to new heights.

Downloads of mobile apps and games topped 64B in H1 2020 across iOS and Google Play worldwide, while consumers worldwide spent 25% more time streaming their favorite shows and movies in Q2 2020 than Q4 2019.

Social apps blurred the lines with streaming providers — the percentage of Netflix’s iPhone users also using TikTok grew from 15% to 45% in Q2 2020 YoY.

“COVID-19 propelled mobile usage forward — achieving growth that would have otherwise taken 2 to 3 years,” comments Lexi Sydow, Sr Market Insights Manager, App Annie. “As we head into the holiday season and 2021, businesses who prioritize mobile will outpace competitors, as mobile represents a significant driver of revenue growth for businesses.”