Mobile Shopping Purchases Reach $20 Billion in 2012, Report Says

New research by Javelin shows that tablets are a big driver in the increased use of mobile device for shopping by consumers.

Javelin's Strategy and Research Group released new research today showing that customers spent more than $20.7 billion shopping with their mobile devices so far in 2012. The Mobile Payments Hit $20 Billion in 2012 report noted that customer shopping with tablet devices seemed to be driver of in growth of mobile shopping this year, with about $5 billion in purchases made with tablets.

Javelin found that customers are generally making larger purchases with their tablet devices than their smartphones. Customers spent $10 more on average when shopping with their tablet than with phones; but even when comparing purchases made by iPad owners versus Kindle Fire owners Javelin said it found significant differences in type and amount of purchases.

Regardless of the type of tablet though, Javelin found that the larger screen sizes (combined with mobility) that tablets provide makes them the best avenue for converting online shoppers to mobile shoppers.

Although most mobile shopping experiences occur through mobile browsers, Javeling encourages the development of mobile apps that provide a better customer shopping experience. "Increasingly mobile devices like tablets are being used as shopping tools but the mobile buying experience is not keeping pace with consumer activity. Apps engage consumers to make purchases. With the upcoming holidays, retailers must prepare for the mobile shopping trend or lose out on the opportunity to convert browsers into buyers," said Mary Monahan, Javelin's Executive Vice President and Research Director, in a statement.

The report is based on three online surveys of mobile phone owners and a survey of mobile device owners conducted by Javelin. Javelin also included case studies of mobile offerings from American Express and Amazon.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio