Monetate Ecommerce Quarterly (EQ4 2013) Unwraps Holiday 2013 Trends; Revenue from Tablets Soars as Consumers Shift to Mobile

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Monetate today announced the release of its latest Ecommerce Quarterly report (EQ4 2013). The report explores how ecommerce sites performed during the 2013 holiday shopping season and highlights the emergence of mobile, specifically tablets, as this year's holiday hero—helping drive ten $1 billion sales days, including a record-breaking Cyber Monday with more than $2 billion in online sales.

Download a free copy of Monetate's EQ4 2013 here

In 2012, only one in five online purchases were made on a mobile device (phone and tablet). According to Monetate's EQ4 2013, that number jumped to one in three this year, growing approximately 50 percent. While smartphones can claim a fair share of credit for increased traffic, tablets proved to be mobile's powerhouse device this season based on AOV. Year over year, AOV for tablets continued its growth trajectory at a healthy 17.27 percent, while smartphones were relatively stagnant at .5 percent.

"Mobile has transformed the ecommerce landscape and this holiday season only reinforced that notion. Revenue from tablets soared, cementing their position in the ecommerce mix," said John Healy, chief operating officer, Monetate. "Looking ahead to the 2014 holiday, I expect mobile, and specifically tablet, growth will continue its dramatic surge and may unseat traditional desktops as the device of choice for buyers."

During the November/December shopping season, AOV for tablets was $153.44, compared to smartphones' $129.42. AOV for traditional hovered at $164.13, which shows that tablets are comparable to desktops and laptops in that shoppers will buy on them, whereas consumers are more likely to use smartphones to browse. Revenue from shoppers on tablets had the largest revenue increase at 152.68 percent, followed by smartphones at 108.58 percent and desktops at 33.54 percent.

Traditionally, the five-day period in between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday has been the most critical time frame for holiday shopping. In 2013, this crucial shopping window evolved into Cyber Week, with deals extending well beyond Monday. For the five days beyond Cyber Monday, 2013 saw a year-over-year increase in purchases of 22.74 percent, ecommerce conversion rates of 19.46 percent, average order value (AOV) of 21.41 percent, total revenue of 46.84 percent, and revenue per session of 44.43 percent.

EQ4 2013 also includes guest commentaries by renowned Wharton professor Peter Fader, who discusses the importance of focusing on the holiday metrics that are truly relevant, and by internationally recognized email marketing expert Jeanne Jennings, who explains how brands can most effectively use this EQ's metrics and benchmarks, and tailor them for their own businesses.

Methodology
The EQ analyzes a random sample of over 7 billion online shopping experiences using "same store" data across each calendar quarter. Averages throughout the EQ are calculated across the entire sample. Key performance indicators, such as average order value and conversion rate, will vary by industry/market type. These averages are published only to support the analysis in each release of the EQ, and are not intended to be benchmarks for any ecommerce business.

About Monetate
Monetate is a marketing acceleration software company that believes when the customer wins, the marketer wins.

A new kind of marketing technology, the Monetate Acceleration Cloud lets marketers understand their customers' situations, behaviors and preferences, and act on those insights with in-the-moment, relevant experiences, targeted to the right customer at the right time.  The Monetate Acceleration Cloud runs above traditional infrastructure and is accessed through one seamless UI.

Monetate generates billions of dollars of new revenue for businesses, helping them grow 39 percent faster than the industry average. Brands such as Best Buy, National Geographic, and Celebrity Cruises rely on Monetate to put the customer first, creating stronger relationships that drive sustained competitive advantage.

SOURCE Monetate