Online shoppers spend more on Thanksgiving Day

Retail sales are expected to be muted this season, with the National Retail Federation predicting a 3.7% increase in November and December, compared to 4.1% for the same period a year ago.

For the first time ever, more people are expected to visit retailers’ websites on their smartphones than from their desktops during the year’s busiest shopping period. The average order value increased by seven percent year-over-year to $125.63. So do apps that have integrated express payment options such as Apple Pay and PayPal One Touch, which remove the need to type out credit card and shipping information. “Singles Day” (November 11) set a new US record, found Adobe, with $1.35 billion in sales.

Online spending figures track higher, however. And mobiles are also account for just under half (48%) of all e-commerce traffic – that is, browsing for goods if not buying outright. Mobile sales are expected to total 20 to 25 per cent of total online sales, up from 16 per cent previous year. In its “2015 Holiday Shopping Predictions” report issued earlier, Adobe Digital Index predicted that Americans will spend an upward of $83 billion online this holiday season, representing the biggest share of annual sales and the highest online sales in history.

“It’s very convenient”, Seth Reineke, 25, an insurance worker from Iowa City, Iowa, told AP. “In between cooking, watching football and in general hanging around family and friends, there’s down time to glance at the iPad and smartphone and do some shopping”. “I don’t plan on going into the store at all”. Seventy-one percent of heavy mobile users said convenience was the most important aspect of the mobile retail experience.

The deals that have surfaced earlier this week have surely been driving more traffic to online sales sites.

Shopping by mobile phone still has its problems, including security concerns, sluggish apps and hard-to-navigate mobile web sites.

“Mobile shopping is particularly popular during key holiday dates like Thanksgiving and Black Friday because phones allow shoppers to access time-constrained offers at any time wherever they may be”, Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru-Kodali said.