Global mobile retail sales grew 30% in the first half of the year

Although physical stores began to reopen in the first half of the year, mobile retail sales still grew by more than 30% in the first half of this year, and shopping through mobile channels will become "a new normal . "

The global shift to mobile retail is largely due to the astonishing growth in the use of shopping apps during the pandemic, according to new research from Liftoff , AppAnnie , and Poq .

The new research, which analyzed 95 billion ad impressions, 1.1 billion clicks, and 14 million installs as of June 1 , 2021 , reveals a surge in mobile shopping app usage in the wake of the pandemic .

Since January 2020, the time spent by mobile users in retail apps has increased 49%, reaching 18 million hours per week in April 2021.

Mobile purchase rates increased 30.1% between January and May 2021 — from 15.3% to 19.9%. Purchase size also increased significantly, with single sales reaching $88 in June 2021, compared to $74 in January, an increase of 15.8%.

The study also showed that Android users far outperformed iOS users on key metrics, with Android's weekly time spent in shopping apps increasing 51% year -over-year to a total of 2 billion hours .

“We live in an era of mass adoption of new technologies, and retail apps are benefiting from this – our analysis over the past five years shows that consumers are flocking to these platforms as their new shopping habits, and this trend continues to strengthen , ” said Liftoff CEO Mark Ellis.

“ Consumers ’ continued interest in mobile shopping even as physical stores reopened suggests that mobile shopping is not a fleeting trend but a new normal that will outlast the pandemic . ”

“Over the past year, retailers have relied heavily on mobile commerce to make up for the decline in offline shopping , ” said Sam Yang, senior vice president of App Annie.

“Even as pandemic restrictions are lifted and stores begin to embrace offline shopping, we predict mobile commerce will continue to grow and become a key factor that retailers can capitalize on. ”

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