Mobile transactions, particularly with smartphones, continue to grow globally when retailers promote their apps, according to a study by Criteo.
Criteo found omnichannel customers have the highest lifetime value and on average represent 27% of all sales, despite making up only 7% of all customers.
“Given that the share of mobile transactions continues to grow in most countries, and that the share of in-app transactions continues to grow in all countries, retailers are well positioned to drive awareness, consideration and conversion through digital experiences,” said Jaysen Gillespie, Vice President and Head of Analytics and Data Science for Criteo. “But this doesn’t mean brick-and-mortar is dead.”
Mobile transactions account for 40% in North America and 52% in Asia Pacific of all global transactions. In the U.S., shares of sales via smartphone increased 14% in the third quarter of 2018. Brazil had the largest increase in smartphone shopping among the countries surveyed by Criteo, increasing in the quarter.
Northern Europe, including have emerged as leaders in mobile commerce, according to Criteo. Globally, retailers who actively promote their shopping apps have a high average of 63% of transactions conducted on mobile devices.
Asia Pacific has the highest share of app transactions among retailers who promote their shopping apps, at 46%, followed by Europe (28%) and the Americas (25%). Overall, in-app’s share of transactions is increasing.
Retailers that have or are considering a shopping app have good reason to invest in promotion. In North America, the conversion rate on shopping apps is more than three times higher than on the mobile web, and nearly twice as high as on desktop.
Among ecommerce pure plays that promote their mobile app, 31% of transactions come from in-app purchases, according to Criteo. This compares to 21% for brick-and-mortar retailers that promote their mobile app.