The fashion industry is leading the worldwide charge in m-commerce, with 33% of purchases in the sector now deriving from mobile, according to a report by Criteo.
In the UK the figure reaches almost half (49%) – the highest rate among markets featured in the report, with Japan (46%), Netherlands (40%), USA (37%) and Germany (36%) not far behind.
And while the sector is also witnessing a steady 18% year-on-year average growth in mobile, this figure is doubled in the US (37%) and peaks to 78% in Brazil.
The consumer
Fashion shoppers are also becoming increasingly blind to the device they’re buying on. Criteo reports that 43% use multiple devices on the path to purchase, with an even spread of sales across apps, mobile web and desktop.
The fashion consumer is also more prone to impulse purchases: six out of ten sales occurring within 24 hours of the purchase journey being started.
And while loyalty also plays a huge role in sales, with just 13% of a retailer’s user count accounting for over half of revenue, heavier buyers have a propensity to scour the market competition.
Given the ‘sheer weight’ of frequent buyers, Criteo states there is ‘tremendous value’ for retailers to encourage customer retention.
The app
Apps are pivotal to the increasing migration to mobile, driving 54% of sales on these devices, but there is a monopoly in that top performers are taking as much as 78%.
Design and user experience will set the wheat from the chaff, with the most effective apps consistently receiving four to five star reviews on the app store. The study also lauded their use of limited-time offers and ease of checkout to aid a speedy a purchase process.
Criteo’s report comes on the back of the ‘Internet Access – Households and Individuals 2015’ report released last month, which revealed that 96% of 16-24 year olds in the UK browse ‘on-the-go’, driven by smartphone penetration and access to 4G.
The figure is almost four times that of 2010.