Brits are set to spend £60bn online in 2016, as mobile and tablet use fuels an £8.9bn increase in online sales. Shoppers will spend an average of £1,372, with ‘multichannel‘ shoppers, who shop online using a PC and a mobile or tablet device, predicted to spend almost twice as much as those who only use a PC to shop, according to research from RetailMeNot, a marketplace for digital offers.
The study, carried out in conjunction with the Centre for Retail Research, reveals that multichannel shoppers are set to spend £1,962 online in 2016, versus £1,014 for PC-only shoppers – a difference of 94% or almost £950.
The difference in spend between multichannel shoppers and PC-only shoppers has increased rapidly over the past year. In 2014, multichannel shoppers spent £1,531 annually – just 59% or £566 more than PC-only shoppers.
While multichannel shoppers are known to spend more than those who stick to a single channel, the study confirms that the gap between how much multichannel and PC-only shoppers spend online is growing fast, buoyed by greater use of mobile and tablet devices for shopping and an increase in transaction size and frequency of purchase.
RetailMeNot found that shoppers spend an average of £57.53 per transaction on PCs today, versus £51.71 on tablet and £47.01 on smartphones, however PC-only shoppers tend to make fewer transactions so ultimately spend less over the course of a year.
As shoppers become more comfortable with tablets and smartphones, transaction size is increasing. In 2016, transaction size on tablets and smartphones is tipped to grow by 5.7 per cent and 12.5% to £54.91 and £52.02 respectively. Comparatively, PC transactions are expected to rise slightly by 2.6% to £60.45.
Giulio Montemagno, Senior Vice President International, RetailMeNot said: “Mobile shoppers typically spend longer researching and comparing products before making a purchase, but as the mobile shopping experience improves we are seeing mobile and tablet users shop online more frequently and spend more each time. Retailers that have been quick off the mark to improve and more efficiently personalise the multichannel shopping experience are now seeing their investment pay off. Comparatively, retailers that have yet to fully embrace mobile and tablet devices are at risk of falling further behind the competition if they do not act quickly.”
