Mobile shopping apps generate less than 5 percent of total e-commerce revenue

GERMANY: In 2012, the majority of mobile shops made less than 5 percent of their total e-commerce revenue via the mobile channel. This means that online stores which use a mobile app can expect to earn on average as much as 5 percent of their e-commerce revenue through the use of m-commerce. The share of companies that make more than 25 percent with their mobile channel is almost 19 percent.

Companies already make money with m-commerce today, but it represents only a fraction of their e-sales. Only a few companies generate a significant share (> 25 percent) of their total e-commerce on the mobile channel. The majority is making less than 5 percent.

The projection of what companies can expect from their mobile shops is cause for moderate optimism. The share of companies which expect to generate more than 25 percent of their total e-commerce revenue will increase by 10 percent points to 27 percent compared to today’s figures. Almost 15 percent expect m-commerce to be responsible for more than 50 percent of e-commerce revenue in the coming five years.

The spread between mobile shops with a high and a low impact on total e-commerce sales is wide. The levers that make a mobile shop successful are manifold. Most of the mobile shops view social network integration, seamless payment and product reviews as the key functionality. Successful m-commerce apps are downloaded more than 2 million times, but the long tale with apps that make only a few thousands downloads is indeed very long.

Smartphones and tablets are the most targeted mobile devices, but other mobile device like e-readers and mobile game consoles are also being focused on. Android and Apple are the primary operating systems for m-commerce today, but the relevance of other platforms like WP7 or mobile web is increasing.

Not surprisingly, virtual goods are the most common products sold through m-commerce solutions, but a wide spread of mobile shops also offer other product categories with different success.