Consumer Analytics

Mobile purchasing looks set for major growth in 2016.

According to new projections from Bizrate Insights, a division of Connextiy, based on month-over-month order volume in November 2015, mobile website purchases will increase by as much as 68% from 2015 to 2016. The peak volume during the 2016 holiday season may reach as high as 42%, nearly half of all online orders.

Smartwatch-based commerce only represents a sliver of total e-commerce, but that may soon be due for a change.

According to new research from Mintel, smartwatch sales are set to boom in the near future. While only 6% of Americans currently own a smartwatch, 21% of consumers who purchased a watch in the past 12 months say they are very interested in the smartwatch trend. And 24% of consumers have bought a watch in the past 12 months.

Last week, I looked at the top three trends that disrupted how retailers engage their customers during 2015. This week, I predict the top three trends that will set the course for customer engagement in 2016.

As Seen on TV

Ordering groceries online and digitizing the store rank among the top trends in grocery shopping for 2016, according to GroceryStories.com.

GroceryStories identified the following full list of top grocery trends for 2016:

The three-day Christmas weekend (Dec. 25 - Dec. 27) showed strong consumer interest in online shopping during and immediately after the holiday.

According to Verizon Retail Index, broadband traffic attributed to e-commerce shopping activity increased dramatically starting on Christmas Day to 26% above average daily levels, posting a seasonal high of 30% above normal levels by Sunday, Dec. 27.

On-demand alcohol delivery app Drizly is in a growth mode. The start-up has an average transaction of around $70, about three times higher than a normal, average in-store transaction, the founders told Boston.com. [Boston.com]

Amazon.com had a merry (and prosperous) holiday season, at least according to a limited set of statistics released by the e-tail giant.

Amazon touted the impact of mobile commerce on its 21st holiday season, reporting that nearly 70% of its customers shopped using a mobile device. However, Amazon did not break that figure down into how many shoppers actually made mobile purchases compared to those who browsed on a mobile device and bought through another channel.

Customers searching for last-minute holiday gifts on the Internet may come up empty-handed.

According to data from the Adobe Digital Index, on Monday, Dec. 21, the overall out-of-stock rate for e-commerce sites was 14%. This ties the online out-of-stock rate for Cyber Monday (Nov. 30) and means that more in one in 10 items displayed on retailers’ e-commerce sites was unavailable for customers who attempted to make a purchase.

When it comes to reaching today’s consumers, Richardson, Texas-based vertical specialty apparel/accessories retailer Fossil Group Inc. is not living in the past.

“We are focusing on image creation for our social promotions,” said Jencey Keeton, marketing manager, digital branding and global marketing for Fossil, during an interview with Chain Store Age. “Images are now the way consumers are speaking. To be relevant, social platforms must include images.”

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