Mobile sales also were up Dec. 25, making up about 29 percent of all online sales, an increase of 40 percent from 2012. Marketers and retailers expected Christmas Day mobile sales to meet or break records, just like Thanksgiving Day mobile sales did last month.
 
“The IBM findings are not surprising at all,” said Karen Pattani-Hason, director of new business and partnerships at Aurnhammer, New York. “As retailers refine their mobile strategies, consumers are already poised to do holiday shopping with their devices.

“Whether they celebrate Christmas or not, consumers have come to appreciate the convenience of mobile shopping, and this trend will only grow.”

Ms. Pattani-Hason is not affliliated with IBM. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Consumers go mobile
The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark report looked at online shopping trends for Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25.
 
The report draws from IBM’s real-time, cloud-based digital analytics platform, which tracks millions of transactions and analyzes date from about 800 retail sites nationwide.
 
Target, Walmart and others have been leveraging mobile applications, Web sites and paid search to drive holiday traffic and sales (see story).

Many retailers offered last-minute and free shipping, while others sweetened pre-holiday sales with coupons and deals. 
Mobile online shopping attracts consumers who put off shopping and try to avoid crowded malls, according to Julia Stewart, deal expert at Offers.com.

Consumers used smartphones to browse and tablets to buy on Dec. 25, according to the IBM report.
 
Analysts have seen this pattern of behavior before, which makes sense because it is easier to place orders and enter data on a tablet’s larger screen. 

Smartphones were the mobile browsing device of choice, comprising 28.5 percent of all online traffic, compared to tablets at 18.1 percent.
 
Overall Dec. 25 online sales were up 16.5pc over 2012

Buyers choose tablets
Tablets drove 19.4 percent of all online sales, while smartphone online sales only accounted for 9.3 percent.
 
Tablet users also spent more per order, averaging $95.61 per order, versus $85.11 per order for smartphones orders.
 
IOS trumped Android in total online sales, driving 23 percent of sales versus 4.6 percent for Android.
 
IOS users spent an average $93.94 per order, while Android users spend $48.10 per order.
 
Android also fell behind iOS in overall traffic, trailing at 14.8 percent behind iOS’ 32.6 percent.
 
Social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest influenced sales, with shoppers referred from Facebook averaging $72.01 per order versus Pinterest referrals, at $86.83 per order.
 
Facebook lead referrals converted to sales by nearly four times the rate of Pinterest referrals.
 
Mobile sales reached 26 percent of online sales on Thanksgiving Day this year, the highest percentage for the weekend and Cyber Monday (see story).

Mobile made up 18 percent of Christmas Day traffic in 2011, according to an IBM report (see story).

“Christmas Day is when consumers remember what they forgot to buy in the days leading up to the holiday – so buying these items on mobile on Christmas Day is to be expected,” Aurnhammer’s Ms. Pattani-Hason said. “The easier it is to complete these sales on mobile, through mobile apps or other mobile shopping methods, the more this trend will grow.”
 
Final Take
Kari Jensen is staff writer at Mobile Commerce Daily, New York