eCommerce Growth Correlates to Greater Smartphone Ownership

Editor’s note: The following is a guest post by Michael Essany.

It looks like smartphones and shopping are the new peanut butter and jelly.

All signs suggest that this inseparable tandem will continue to fuel tremendous growth in online shopping for 2012 and beyond.

According to the latest projections from Digital Marketer, advertisers are poised to rapidly direct more of their scarce marketing dollars to the mobile platform in response to the undeniable correlation between smartphone ownership and eCommerce.

A Key Player

“Smartphones are a major driving force in eCommerce today,” independent business analyst Mike Randazzo tells Daily Deal Media, “but not just because consumers are making more purchases directlythrough their smartphone.“

Randazzo asserts that greater smartphone ownership is helping eCommerce by creating more productexposure opportunities.

“Many consumers use their handsets in stores to check competing prices online,” he says. “They often don’t pull the trigger until they are back home and infront of their computer or laptop. Regardless, smartphones are a direct contributor and indirect catalyst for eCommerce.”

Consequently, advertisers know that smartphone owners are generally favorable to online shopping. And with Nielsen reporting that 43% of Americans with cellphone service now own smartphones, mobile marketing dollars are about to balloon.

“In 2011,” Digital Marketer reveals, “only 0.9% of advertising dollars went into mobile advertising; however, the mobile ecommerce statistics should start to improve in 2012. With the sheer number of smartphones being purchased, methods for purchasing using smartphones will surely be improved and then advertising should follow.“

The Hype Persists

No shortage of big names are stepping up with bold predictions for what 2012 will mean for smartphones, online shopping, and the anticipated mobile commerce boom.

Just this week, eBay chief John Donahoe revealed that nearly 900,000 new eBay shoppers made their very first eBay purchase in 2011 through the company’s popular mobile apps. That figure represents a 113 percent increase year-over-year for the online auction giant.

Industry-wide, the research shows that eBay isn’t alone when it comes to possessing and trumpeting bold expectations.

A recent survey conducted by Market Strategies International indicates that seven in ten smartphone owners have now shopped or at least browsed for products via the mobile web.

“Smartphone users are shopping and purchasing through their smartphones at the rate we expected. However, we were surprised to see that users are buying physical goods at about the same rate as apps, indicating that the technology is on the verge of widespread adoption,” said Ann Graham Hannon, vice president of the financial services division at Market Strategies.

Conversely, Randazzo believes that the trend will not only continue, it will be aided greatly by the efforts of smartphone makers to increase the size and clarity of their screens.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about mobile commerce having been hindered in the past by smaller smartphone screens,” Randazzo says. “This will be less of a hurdle in years to come as the screens get slightly larger and shoppers grow more accustomed to browsing and purchasing on their handset.”

Sources: Digital Marketer, Market Strategies International