Mobile commerce comprises most online shopping sales

Mobile commerce - shopping on smartphone

Most online sales come from mobile devices.

Globally, shopping over smartphones and tablets now makes up about 60 percent of all online sales according to a new Market Insights report released by Statista.

The more time consumers spend on their phones and tablets, the more they are inclined to shop there.

The convenience of mobile commerce when consumers are already using their smartphones and tablets on a regular basis has been driving sales to the point that this is by far the most common source of online sales. This year, sales made on phones and tablets have reached $2.2 trillion worldwide and comprise 60 percent of all online purchases, said the Market Insights report from Statista.

Mobile commerce - online shopping

The share of e-commerce that takes place on mobile devices has been consistently climbing over the last few years. In 2018, it had already broached the mark making it a more common place for a sale than desktops and laptops, at 56 percent. It has now grown to 60 percent and is expected to keep climbing and will reach 62 percent by 2027, according to the report.

The rise in sales through mobile commerce is expected to continue a massive expansion in coming years.

Despite the rapid growth already seen, m-commerce is only expected to continue a steep rise as the entire sector continues to broaden on a global basis. By 2027, the Statista analysts that compiled the report predict that sales made over smartphones and tablets will reach $3.4 trillion. Comparatively, in 2018, that figure was only $982 billion.

There were five billion unique mobile internet users last year, suggesting that over 60 percent of the global online population is using a smartphone or tablet. Ownership of these devices – as well as access to the internet – are only expected to rise with improved affordability.

During last year’s second quarter, global internet users spent more than half their online time connected by way of their smartphones or tablets. At the same time, in a different mobile commerce direction, consumers are now spending less money through apps. In fact, this represented the first decline in in-app purchases recorded in seven years. Consumers spent $167 billion through in-app purchases last year, including subscriptions and app experience upgrades. That was a 2 percent decrease from the $170 billion spent through the same channels the year before.

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