Mobile rules Thanksgiving weekend traffic

New York -Online sales were up 17% on Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, compared to the same weekend in 2013, according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. What's more, mobile traffic accounted for 51.2% of all online traffic this past weekend, an increase of 25.5% year over year, and mobile sales accounted for 28.9% of all online sales this past weekend, an increase of 24.9% year over year.



According to IBM, the key drivers behind the weekend trends include:



- Consumers Cash-In on Online Bargains: Average order value was $123.81, flat compared to the same period in 2013. Shoppers also purchased an average of 3.4 items per order.



- Smartphones Browse, Tablets Buy: Smartphones drove 34.5 percent of total online traffic, more than double that of tablets, which accounted for 16.3 percent of all online traffic. However, tablets are winning the shopping war. Tablet sales accounted for 17.6 percent of online sales, compared to smartphones, which accounted for 11.2 percent of total online sales, a difference of 56.3 percent.



- The Desktop is Not Dead: Even as mobile shopping continues to grow, many consumers chose a more traditional online experience. Desktop PC traffic represented 48.6 percent of all online traffic, and 71.1 percent of all online sales. Further, consumers spent more money on their desktops with an average order value of $128.60 compared to their mobile devices at $112.81, a difference of 14 percent.



- Apple iOS vs. Android: Apple iOS once again led the way in mobile shopping this holiday season, outpacing Android across key metrics.