Online shoppers using more than one device to make a product purchase spend around a quarter more (23%) than ‘single-device shoppers’, according to the Cross-Device Intelligence Report from affiliate network CJ Affiliate.
Data sourced from the affiliate network’s transactional data for over 1,000 clients who tracked cross-device orders between June 2017 and February 2018 found that nearly half (48%) of online shoppers who use more than one device to make a product purchase start their cross-device purchases on a smartphone compared to a desktop or laptop (47%) – a marginal indication that smartphones hold a key influence in the early stages of the user buying journey.
In addition, ‘multi-device shoppers’ who browse on a smartphone spend 37% more than shoppers using a single device while both smartphones and tablets were the initial devices used for 50% of affiliate cross-device orders.
“We’ve all hesitated over a big purchase at one time or another, but this is great news for retailers and marketers,” said, Owen Hancock, head of strategy for Europe at CJ Affiliate; “Longer decision-making processes mean higher value orders, partly because shoppers will be exposed to more products and advertising when they’re browsing for longer periods of time.”
While most users online start their browsing on smartphones, they still turn to desktops and laptops to make their purchase. According to the study, an almost identical amount of online shoppers start their browsing on a mobile device before finishing a purchase on desktops or laptops – at 30% and 31% respectively.
“Cross-device tracking has quickly become an essential tool for marketers,” added Hancock; “Without cross-device tracking retailers can’t hope to make informed decisions about how to invest their resources effectively and get the best possible results in the future.”