Unlike desktop traffic to e-commerce sites, which tends to peak on Mondays and remains stronger during weekdays than on weekends, mobile shopping traffic is highly concentrated on Sundays. The lowest is Friday.
So finds a study of global consumers carrier out by alternative browser company Opera, which looked at how global consumers use mobile devices to shop online and which mobile advertisers capture consumers’ attention.
One possible explanation for the Sunday service is that many consumers use their mobile devices to browse products over the weekend, then revisit and purchase when they return to their desks on Monday. The day with the lowest mobile shopping traffic is Friday.
The Christmas season is the most active time for shopping in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Between November and February, the United States sees an increase of over 15% higher than annual averages in shopping volume.
Germany also shows particularly large increases in the number of shoppers during November and December, experiencing an increase of over 28% from its annual average.
In Asia, however, March is the peak month for volume, followed closely by July. This is largely due to Ramadan starting in late June and ending in late July this year.
When taking a global look at the data, the month that sees the most mobile traffic volume to shopping sites is actually June, while February sees the highest mobile traffic for avid shoppers (those whose mobile behaviors indicate a strong interest in shopping).
In the United States, Amazon leads the pack in mobile shopping with a 36.3% market share of traffic volume. Trailing in second is eBay with 16% of the market share, followed by Craigslist with 11.5%. Among the big-box retailers that offer mobile shopping, Walmart sees the highest volume of traffic, followed by Target and Sears. Other U.S. retailers that see an increase in mobile traffic in November include Walgreens, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble, Kmart and Nike.
On a global scale, Amazon remains the leader but there are some relative newcomers that have taken strong leadership positions in Asia, such as FlipKart in India and Berniaga in Indonesia. In Latin America, MercadoLibre has emerged as a top mobile shopping destination. In China, Alibaba is a key player to watch as mobile shopping marketplaces mature.
Read the full report here
