US mobile commerce passes $10bn for H1 2013

M-commerce spending reached $4.7bn in Q2 2013 with a growth rate of 24% compared with a year ago bringing spending to $10.6bn, representing 10% of total digital commerce during that time.

comScore said that with the expected seasonal surge in Q4 spending, m-commerce could surpass $25 billion for the full year.

Smartphones drove a considerably higher share of total digital commerce than tablets – 6% versus 3.5%.

The figures found that while smartphone users outnumbered tablet users by a factor greater than 2x, the average spending per device owner is actually 20% higher on tablets.

The top-ranked product categories in total m-commerce sales for the first half of 2013 were Apparel & Accessories, Computer Hardware, and Event Tickets, while Video Games, Consoles & Accessories showed the highest percentage of digital commerce spending occurring via m-commerce at 23.7%.

It is the first time that comScore has made available m-commerce sales estimates by product category occurring on both smartphones and tablets.

The company said the capability aligned with comScore’s existing e-commerce sales estimates, enabling retailers, marketers, publishers and financial services companies to gain insight into the trends and market dynamics driving the emerging m-commerce sector.

comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said: “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.”