Mobile commerce gaining bigger share of retail landscape

RESTON, Va. — In terms of growth, clicks continued to outpace bricks in 2012 — and how!

That was the key takeaway from comScore’s “2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus” report: Despite the backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, 2012 was a strong year for retail e-commerce. Throughout the year, growth rates versus the prior year remained in the mid-teens to outpace growth at brick-and-mortar retail by a factor of approximately four times.

Total U.S. retail and travel-related e-commerce reached $289 billion in 2012, up 13% from the previous year, according to the report. While e-commerce continues to gain share from traditional retail, the first signs of mobile commerce affecting the digital commerce landscape are starting to emerge. In fourth quarter 2012, comScore estimates that m-commerce transactions (from both smartphones and tablets) now represent approximately 11% of corresponding e-commerce spending.