“Cyber Monday,” also known as Nov. 26, was the biggest spending day ever according to cloud-based analytics by IBM – and mobile accounted for a significant portion of the holiday shopping blitz.
This year’s Cyber Monday spending grew by 30.3% over last year, as retailers successfully engaged customers across multiple channels.
According to IBM’s figures, more than 18% of consumers who were shopping on Monday used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s website; that’s an increase of more than 70% compared with 2011. And consumers weren’t merely using their phones for browsing: mobile sales jumped by a stunning 96%, reaching almost 13% of the day’s total sales.
IBM also reported that the iPad continued to generate more traffic than any other tablet or smartphone, and iPads drove more than 7% of online shopping. The iPhone accounted for almost as much, 6.9%; Android phones accounted for 4.5% of online shopping. More than 90% of tablet traffic was from iPads, with the Amazon Kindle accounting for a distant second at 2.6%, and the Samsung Galaxy at 2%.
Cyber Monday continued to have a distinct character compared to “Black Friday.” On Black Friday, also known as Nov. 23, IBM found that mobile and online shopping were both strong; but mobile decreased on Cyber Monday, as shoppers went back to work and made purchases via PC. Online sales were up 30% compared to Black Friday 2012, and mobile traffic and sales fell by about 20% from their Black Friday levels.
“Retailers that adopted a smart marketing approach to commerce were able to adjust to the shifting shopping habits of their customers, whether in-store, online or via their mobile device of choice, and full benefit from this day and the entire holiday weekend,” said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce.
Today is expected by some to be another big day for the mobile retail channel; some retailers have been pushing “Mobile Tuesday” as a time to focus on offerings via wireless.
