IBM finds that online retailers rely on mobile traffic

Online sales early this week were up nearly 12% from the equivalent Monday a year earlier. Data from the IBM Digital Analytics Holiday Benchmark shows that mobile traffic accounted for nearly 32% of all online traffic, up 42% compared to the same period last year.



Mobile sales remained strong, exceeding 13% of all online sales, up 54% year-over-year. While smartphone traffic accounted for 20% of all online traffic compared to tablets at 11%, when it came to making actual purchases, tablet users drove close to 9% of online sales, which almost doubled smartphones users, who drove 4.6%.



As a percentage of total online sales, iOS was more than four times higher than Android, driving 11.06% vs. 2.5% for Android. On average, iOS users spent $108.68 per order compared to $93.36 for Android users, a difference of 16%. iOS also led as a component of overall traffic with 21.93% compared to 9.75% for Android.



Shoppers referred from Facebook averaged $79.12 per order, which was 16.5% lower than Pinterest referrals, which drove $92.18 per order. However, Facebook referrals converted sales at a 2.6% higher rate than Pinterest referrals, which IBM says perhaps indicates stronger confidence in network recommendations.



Supporting these overall trends, the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark also reported real-time trends across four retail categories this holiday season:



1. Department Stores: Monday total online sales grew by close to 72% from 2012, with mobile sales growing by 54% year-over-year.



2. Health and Beauty: Monday total online sales grew by nearly 38% from 2012, with mobile sales growing by nearly 89% year-over-year.



3. Home Goods: Monday total online sales grew by close to 19% from 2012, with mobile sales growing by 34% year-over-year.



4. Apparel: Monday total online sales grew by close to 15% from2012, with mobile sales growing by close to 49% year-over-year.