Nucleus Mobile Web Survey – Wave 9, June 2015

31 July 2015

The rise in the number and value of mobile transactions indicates increased consumer confidence to purchase via mobile devices at home and on-the-move. The ‘commuter commerce’ phenomenon, influenced by better wifi and widely available 3G and 4G networks on transport systems, has undoubtedly helped to raise mobile spending. According to a report by Zapp and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the UK ‘commuter commerce’ market alone is predicted to be worth £9.3bn in 2015.

In previous surveys it was luxury brands that led the mobile revolution, but Wave 9 sees mainstream brands gaining ground where they have invested in responsive website design. The expanding market of affordable smartphones has aided this rise in mobile browsing cross all brand segments.

The erosion of Apple’s dominant lead in mobile browsing and booking has continued due to increased competition from Android and other operating systems. Overall, Apple’s mobile share fell from 77% to 74% in the last 6 months. Android, although still lagging far behind, rose almost 3% to take 22% of the mobile traffic share, meanwhile Windows remains a distant third.

Significantly, iPhone has overtaken iPad as the browsing device of choice, accounting for 40.1% and 33.6% of mobile traffic respectively. iPhone revenue and transactions follow this growth pattern and have both seen marked growth in the last 12 months. iPhone booking revenue is up 83% year-on-year and transactions are up 57% compared to the same period last year. This is an important development, cementing our findings that consumers are becoming totally at ease with completing their whole digital journey on a smartphone, where usability allows.

Our research points to a major turning point in consumer mobile behaviour, whereby as a result of a rapidly-expanding market of smartphone users, increased take up of RWD and better broadband coverage, mobile browsing and transactions are becoming the norm, putting desktops ever more in the shade. As mobile browsing is now the majority, Nucleus analysts predict that mobile transactions will become the majority of eCommerce within the next 12 months. Responsive and ‘mobile-friendly’ websites are crucial to exploit this evolving marketplace.

For information about Nucleus’ brand, digital and responsive design services, read our approach to digital design.

See earlier Mobile Web Browsing Reports

Peter Matthews
Nucleus Founder & CEO
July 2015

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