Mobile Shopping Apps Generate Less Than 5% of Total e-commerce Revenue

In 2012, the majority of mobile shops made less than 5% of their total e-commerce revenue via the mobile channel. This means that online stores which use a mobile app can expect to earn on average as much as 5% of their e-commerce revenue through the use of m-commerce. The share of companies that make more than 25% with their mobile channel is almost 19%.

Mobile applications or web pages are no longer just for playing Angry Birds or checking the weather; they are also rapidly becoming shopping companions. Considering the fact that mobile devices are the one thing people never leave at home, along with their keys and wallets, it is no surprise that companies are trying to get onto this device to sell their products But to what extent and how do they do it? What is the real status of m-commerce business today, and how does it change in the upcoming years?

These and many more questions are the focus of our  Global M-Commerce Status Check Report  conducted in Q3 2012 with more than 600 m-commerce companies.

On the one hand companies already make money with m-commerce today. On the other hand, it represents only a fraction of their e-sales. Only a few companies generate a significant share (> 25%) of their total e-commerce on the mobile channel. The majority is making less than 5%.

The projection of what companies can expect from their mobile shops is cause for  moderate optimism. The share of companies which expect to generate more than 25% of their total e-commerce revenue will increase by 10 percent points to 27% compared to today’s figures. Almost 15% expect m-commerce to be responsible for more than 50% of e-commerce revenue in the coming 5 years.

The spread between mobile shops with a high and a low impact on total e-commerce sales is wide. The levers that make a mobile shop successful are manifold. Most of the mobile shops view social network integration, seamless payment and product reviews as the key functionality.

Successful m-commerce apps are downloaded more than 2 million times, but the long tale with apps that make only a few thousands downloads is indeed very long.

Smartphones and tablets are the most targeted mobile devices, but other mobile device like e-readers and mobile game consoles are also being focused on.

Android and Apple are the primary operating systems for m-commerce today, but the relevance of other platforms like WP7 or mobile web is increasing.

Not surprisingly, virtual goods are the most common products sold through m-commerce solutions, but a wide spread of mobile shops also offer other product categories with different success.

The “m-commerce status check 2012” provides a detailed view on how m-commerce leaders and followers use the mobile channel to sell their products and services today and what their plans are for the future.

For more information please look at the  detailed description and preview of the report.