Mobile Commerce Expected To Down This Holiday Season

Mobile may be all the rage, especially with the launch of the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, but it turns out consumers don’t use it as much, at least when it comes to holiday shopping.

According to a report, which highlighted research from NetElixir, on average, consumers spend around 22 percent less on mobile than a desktop when it comes to shopping for the holidays. There’s no question that shopping on a mobile device is growing in popularity, with some estimates figuring 30 percent of all purchases online take place via a mobile phone, but NetElixir is forecasting slower-than-usual growth for online sales during the holiday selling season, which is the busiest time of the year for many retailers.

The report noted that NetElixir estimates there will be around 11 percent year-over-year growth in mobile shopping compared to 13 percent in 2014 and 2015 and 10 percent in 2013. The researcher pointed to Amazon Prime Day in July as one reason, since some early birds took advantage of the deal to get ahead of holiday shopping. What’s more, the report said there is a shift going on in which consumers are moving toward marketplaces rather than websites to purchase things. Also, uncertainty about the presidential election in the U.S. is weighing on consumer shopping this holiday season.

Even with mobile purchases predicted to be down, there will be some retailers that will do better than others during the all-important holiday shopping season. The report pointed to Amazon as one of the winners, saying its share of holiday sales will likely increase 28 percent this year, which is up from 26 percent in 2015 and 22 percent in 2014.

While Black Friday is traditionally the kickoff to the holiday selling season online and offline, retailers have been getting more aggressive even during the summer. Amazon Prime Day is just one example of how retailers are training consumers to shop early.