The following excerpt is from an article found on search engine people. It was written by Daniel Kosir.
The way people purchase online is changing. Consumers can turn to review sites and see customer ratings with the click of a button. Vendor and price comparisons are just a Google search away. And with search engines aiming to offer more personalized results, locality is more important than ever.
But of the myriad of changes in online purchasing patterns, none is as important for eCommerce as mobile search. The statistics are illuminating:
- 66% of smartphone owners in Canada access the Internet everyday on their device, and most never leave home without it
- 89% of users search for local information on their phones, with 88% performing some sort of action as a result, such as making a purchase
- 77% of mobile users have researched a product or service on their device
- 27% of mobile users have made a purchase on their phone
Furthermore, the sheer volume of people using mobile devices to search, shop, and access information is increasing rapidly. Mobile now accounts for about 18% of all global internet traffic, up from 0.67% just 5 years ago. In Canada, mobile search is higher in certain pockets than is desktop traffic. This trend will only increase, with the more informed observers among us agreeing that mobile will soon surpass desktop usage.
How Does This Affect Ecommerce?
The explosion of mobile search is interesting in and itself, but it is the way it has changed (and continues to change) the online shopping space that is most intriguing. Put simply, mobile searches are goal-oriented, and as a result, drive conversions.
- Almost 80% of smartphone users in Canada search for product service information on their devices
- 27% of users have made a purchase on their device
- Of these users, almost half make mobile purchases at least once a month
–Mobile Search Moments. Google & Nielsen.
The message is clear: people are buying — directly and indirectly — using their mobile devices. Whether you sell exclusively online, or you are a hybrid eCommerce/brick-and-mortar retailer, if you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, you’re losing business.
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