There's been a lot of talk this week about a report published by internet metrics company Nielsen. The Increasingly Connected Consumer: Connected Devices gives us an overview of who is using Connected Devices (i.e. mobile phones, iPhones, iPads etc.)
The report primarily focuses on App usage which got me thinking about web usage on these devices. We know that more and more people are surfing with their phones but I decided to have a look at our own metrics to see what these consumers are really up to.
I've used data collected using Google Analytics from some of our eCommerce sites. The sample consists of 2.5 million visitor sessions since January 1st 2010. Of these sessions, 98,000 were made by visitors on their mobile devices.
This first graph shows the increase in share of traffic made by mobile device users. In the 20-30 age range this has increased from 2.2% in January to an impressive 7.5% share of traffic in October.
The 30-40 age group, where you wouldn't expect so many early adopters and quite a few technophobes, has also increased dramatically to a 4.8% share.
The increase in growth from the middle of the year is caused by the introduction and adoption of the iPad. This is demonstrated to greater effect by the 20-30 year olds.
I'm particularly interested in the usability of these devices and the effect this has on sales. None of the eCommerce sites measured do anything particularly clever for delivery on mobile devices. It's really about how well the devices cope with a standard website.
The next graph shows conversion rates by device (or operating system). The baseline running through the middle of the graph is the average, overall conversion rate.
You'll see that I've added in the desktop devices for comparison (Windows, Macintosh, Linux). It's easy to see that the small format devices (i.e. phones) have a relatively poor conversion rate. The larger format iPad has a conversion rate that is closing in its desktop cousins.
Finally, let's have a look at how much is spent when visitors are using their mobile devices. The Nielsen report shows that iPad users are far more receptive to advertising and more likely to purchase once they've seen an ad on their device? Is it that they're more affluent than most? Or perhaps they're just more gullible?
The baseline running through the middle of the graph is the average, overall order value. The graph shows, astonishingly, that iPad users spend over 30% more than any other type of user. Macintosh owners also spend more than most. In fact high end touch screen devices all fair very well.
Firstly, knowing this information about your website's visitors is like gold dust. You need to make sure you are capturing this data and also to make sure you've got a partner who can help you understand it.
Secondly, you've got to respond to these findings. We now know that visitors with Macs and iPads spend more money. We'll be working on our eCommerce sites to offer these visitors the more affluential products. Linux users on the other hand will be sent to the bargain basement!
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