M-Commerce Spending Hits $4.7 Billion in Q2 2013, Could Reach $10 Billion in Q4 2013

According to comScore, mobile commerce (m-commerce) spending reached $4.7 billion in the second quarter, up 24 percent from the $3.8 billion in m-commerce spending in the second quarter of 2012. In the first half of 2013, m-commerce spending hit $10.6 billion, which is the equivalent of $1 of $10 in total digital commerce spending during that span of time.

“Any channel shift has the potential to be disruptive to established revenue streams, and it would appear that m-commerce spending has reached enough of a critical mass that key stakeholders must begin to address this new market dynamic today or risk losing competitive advantage,” according to Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore.

The company notes that with the expected seasonal surge in spending in the fourth quarter, m-commerce could exceed $25 billion for the full year. This would reflect an increase of more than 24 percent from m-commerce spending in 2012.

In the first half of 2013, smartphones accounted for 6.0 percent total digital commerce spending, while tablets accounted for 3.5 percent. This can be attributed to the fact that smartphone users outnumber tablet users by a factor greater than 2x, according to comScore.

However, the average spending per tablet user was $56.87 in the first half of the year, about 20.6 percent higher than the $47.17 in average spending per smartphone user. “This is likely a function of the platform’s higher income demographics and its greater similarity to the desktop experience due to its larger screen size,” according to the company.

According to comScore, an average of 35 percent of the average top 50 retailers’ monthly audiences comes exclusively from mobile devices. The company says retailers that aren’t optimizing their mobile browsing experience or rolling out mobile apps are “effectively turning away a third of their potential customers.”

comScore also cites the importance of retailers getting their mobile acts together as the 2013 holiday season and as much as $10 billion in fourth-quarter m-commerce sales turn the corner.