This year, consumers across the United States didn’t hesitate to continue their holiday shopping on Christmas day just because the malls were closed, as online sales jumped by 16.4 percent over last year, and the mobile shopping spiked sharply by 117.8 percent.
This retail data is according to IBM’s Coremetrics. It observed trends that were comparable to what was seen over Thanksgiving, as well. A growing number of customers were visiting retailers using their smartphones and tablets to make their purchases when the stores were closed. In fact, according to the figures from IBM, of all of the online sessions that occurred at the websites of retailers, 18.3 percent occurred through mobile channels.
The number of completed purchases that occurred via mobile devices also increased this year. In fact, 14.4 percent of online completed sales came through mobile channels, compared to Christmas day last year, when it was only 5.3 percent.
On the day following Christmas, the online sales continued, with an increase of 10 percent to those made from a mobile device. This meant that on December 26, 18.7 percent of all visits to retailer websites came from a smartphone or tablet. These devices also led to 13.8 percent of the total sales on that day.
As the holiday shopping season continues on – since many retailers are maintaining their discount offers right through until the New Year – the online and mobile spending will continue to be monitored. It is expected that record sales will be reached this year, and mobile will have played a notable role in that achievement.
